Closer
by LikeLavender
Summary: Secret summer romances never seem to last. Troy and Gabriella, as meant to be as they are, find out the hard way. Now at college can they succeed at appearing as though nothing has changed? And why did their relationship fail in the first place? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **HSM and anything in relation does not belong to me, nor do I make any sort of profit from this.

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The get together was random. Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke, and Kelsi drove up from New York to visit with a little more than three hours notice. Once arriving, the eight East High graduates went downtown to the largest mall, which held a movie theater at the top floor. And now, at the mall waiting for the movie to start, it was as though they all knew, as if they were setting Troy and Gabriella up. Taylor and Chad had wandered to the Barnes and Noble a few stores down to replace an old copy of Taylor's favorite novel, while Kelsi, Sharpay, Ryan and Zeke all went to find the bathroom on the second floor. This left Troy and Gabriella sitting at a small metal table next to the now closed ice cream kiosk in the nearly deserted mall. It was as if their friends knew what had begun and ended the summer before. But they didn't, they couldn't. If they did know all hell would have broken loose: and for now, despite its protests, hell was quiet. Troy and Gabriella, however, were struggling to find reasons to converse. From a passerby's point of view, they could have been mistaken as strangers. But no one was passing by and Troy and Gabriella weren't strangers. They were anything but strangers.

Gabriella was fidgeting: crossing and recrossing her legs under the table, twiddling her thumbs in between her almost manic-like checking of her BlackBerry. There were no messages each time she looked, but that didn't stop her. Sometimes she quickly set it back down, other times she pretended to respond to the zero messages in her inbox. Troy decided to speak.

"So," he was forced to wave his hand in front of her eyes to grab her attention, "How's school been? I feel like I never see you anymore." This was the first time he had spoken to her since coming to Boston in late August to get set up for college; he had expected when he left Albuquerque he would have run into her at least once before now.

She looked down at the BlackBerry still sitting in her hand, though this time she made no attempt to check anything at all. Her body was frozen as she answered, "That's because you don't." There was a coldness in her voice that he wasn't accustomed to.

Troy frowned, and questioned her in a tone she was sure her mother had used before, to signify disappointment, "And do you make sure of that, Gabriella?"

At the sound of her first name spoken in its entirety she finally made eye contact with Troy, and what she found was surprising. Troy's lips, naturally, were formed into a small smile. Some might mistake it for a smirk Troy had practiced; they might think it was cocky, or cruel, but Gabriella knew better. However, the current look on Troy's face, or the shape of his lips rather, was in a definite frown, and within the blue irises of Troy's eyes she found hurt and doubt. The last time Gabriella had seen that look on Troy's face was the weekend before college started at the lake barbeque their mutual friends held annually. In less than a second and a swish of his hair both emotions were wiped from his face, replaced with something cloudy and unreadable.

"School has been alright," Gabriella replied, deciding after seeing Troy's face to answer his first question, "Great actually. My chemistry professor contacted me and will let me work with him during his research. He specializes in gene therapy."

Troy nodded.

"That's the field I want to go into eventually, after med school," she added as an after thought, "If it's still somewhat of a frontier anyway."

Troy nodded and smiled a true, genuine smile, "El, I know. I know _you_."

Gabriella ducked her head into her shoulder in embarrassment, her curls succeeding in hiding the light blush adorning her cheeks, but it didn't matter, because Troy knew the blush was there. The silence came rolling back over them like a thundercloud, full of things that could and should be said. Troy was the one to break the quiet.

"I'm glad, you know," Troy almost whispered, his eyes peaking out from the mop of sandy brown hair covering his brow to search for hers, "I'm glad everything is working out for you."

Gabriella held back her scoff and said nothing. She would have been a lot happier, they both would be a lot happier, if things had worked out differently. But that was on him, so she held her tongue. Instead, she flattened her hands on the table and let the metal cool her palms before she minutely nodded her head. There was a throat clearing from across the table and Troy, again, was the one to speak.

"So, what about boys?" he attempted to lighten the mood, "any dudes I need to talk to?" Troy's words were light and humorous, but his face was serious, if not threatening.

The look in Gabriella's eyes told him his attempt failed. "No, definitely not, and even if there were any boys, _men,_ I wouldn't need you, or anyone else for that matter, to talk to them," she spat. "What about you, though? From what Chad tells me you've had your fair share of the ladies." She wiggled her fingers in the air for flare as she said 'ladies'.

Troy shrugged nonchalantly, "It's all relative."

"Ah," Gabriella raised her eyebrows and nodded her head once, slowly, in feigned understanding before resting her chin in her palm. Even with one word the sarcasm in Gabriella's voice was almost tangible.

The quiet came back again, this time it lasted for minutes. Troy checked his phone for the time too often, and Gabriella anxiously looked towards the Barnes and Nobel, hoping to see Chad and Taylor emerge from the entrance. She hadn't meant to snap at him, it was just difficult. It was difficult to be in the general vicinity of Troy - to talk about girls he did or did not sleep with was unbelievably taxing. Each time she turned her head to check if Chad and Taylor were coming she was granted a short glimpse of him. Although he was fiddling with his watch, Gabriella could see for the second time in the span of thirty minutes a frown on Troy's face; a frown that was surely caused by her. Guilt washed over her and suddenly, and it was Gabriella's voice that cut through the hush.

"Do you know what Star Craft is, Troy?" There was a far off look in Gabriella's eyes as she gazed off at something to the left of Troy's head.

Troy's head shot up from his phone at the sound of her voice. "Yeah, I think so, isn't it that computer game where there you can play as different alien races? And then you battle? It's a strategy game, right?" Troy asked, somewhat bewildered that Gabriella would not only ask him something so random, but so abruptly.

"That's the one," she smiled, her eyes flicking to Troy's and then back to whatever she was looking at behind him. Troy followed her line of vision and found a video game store window display with a large cardboard cut out of one of the alien characters.

"I miss it," she said, wistful. "I used to play it all the time in elementary school with my brother."

Troy cocked his head to the side, "Really? You never seemed like the computer game type."

Gabriella shrugged, "I'm not, really. It was more of a way to bond with Joshua."

This was a first, Troy realized. It was a step forward, back to the way they were before they moved to college, when he and Gabriella could speak to each other without fighting through the tension, forcing small talk and avoiding the subjects that were dying for discussion. It might have been a quick conversation, more of an aside Gabriella felt like sharing, but Troy would take what he could get.

They head two metal chairs scrape against the floor, signaling the return of Chad and Taylor form the bookstore. Immediately, Chad punched Troy's shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts and into a discussion over whether or not the movie they were waiting to see would be any good.

Gabriella continued to gaze at the window display half listening to Troy and Chad argue about which transformer was coolest.

"You okay?" Taylor asked and scooted a little closer to Gabriella, allowing them both to speak without being overheard by one of the boys. "You look a little down."

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired, I guess," Gabriella said and gave Taylor a gentle, reassuring smile.

Taylor was perceptive; she had been known to say it was one of her best attributes. And Gabriella was her friend, her best friend, so it was clear to Taylor that Gabriella wasn't tired, or stressed from assignments, or hungry, or whatever the excuses had been. She knew it in August when Gabriella pushed away her burger at the lake claiming she "wasn't hungry", even though Gabriella never let Taylor forget how much she loved anything off a grill. And she knew it tonight, when Gabriella said she was tired. What she couldn't figure out, however, was what exactly was bothering Gabriella.

Taylor was about to ask Gabriella just what was truly bothering her, when Sharpay's voice could be heard chattering over Kelsi and Ryan's muffled giggles as they made their way down the escalator. The clacking of Sharpay's heels grew louder – a sign that an inevitable interruption was coming.

"Come on!" she demanded, directing her attention to the four sitting at the table, "the movie starts in like ten minutes."

Chad made no move to stand or hurry, even his voice possessed no haste. "Dude, Chill. There are like tons of previews, and it's 11:30, I'm sure there'll be plenty of seats. I'm surprised you're so eager to see Eagle Eye anyway."

Sharpay took a deep breath in, "Well, I'll have you know, Danforth," she spat, "That regardless of what movie I go to see I like to be on time. Just like any other event that is blessed with my presence."

Chad hadn't bothered to look at Sharpay after he said his piece, knowing there was going to a rebuttal he figured he save his strength. It was Zeke who got her to stop nagging.

"Come on Shar, let's just start walking, they'll follow," he said, and placed a hand on her shoulder to guide her back towards the escalator. Sharpay stalked off in front of him a few feet and Zeke took this time to kick Chad's chair good-naturedly, "What the hell man, you know how she gets when she's all riled up."

Chad smirked, "I'm sure you know better than I do, don't you Zeke."

Zeke rubbed a hand on top of his head and glanced to Sharpay a few paces ahead, "Shut up, man."

Zeke's statement was true, and as soon as they turned their back the foursome at the table stood and began to follow. Taylor fell behind to comfort a complaining Chad so Gabriella sped up to walk with Kelsi, who was quite a bit ahead of her. Before she could reach Kelsi, however, she felt a clammy hand enclose around her wrist. Her instinct was to pull away, but she didn't – she knew this hand. It was Troy's. It was impossible not to know, the smell of laundry detergent and something she couldn't place, but knew was unique to him circled around her.

"Your purse, El." Troy handed her the purse she nearly left sitting on the ground before catching up with Chad and Taylor who had by now passed them both.

Gabriella murmured an unfocused thanks, but Troy was long gone. Farther ahead of Chad, Taylor, and Troy were Kelsi, Ryan, Zeke and Sharpay. They had just reached the escalator and Zeke was leading Sharpay, his hand resting on the small of her back, a smile on each of their faces. Gabriella stood back for a moment, squeezing her bag between both hands and turned to observe Troy. He too was now reaching the escalator with Chad and Taylor, apparently having just told a joke, as both Chad and Taylor burst into laughter. He seemed exactly the same, still laughing with his friends, making jokes, the same smile on his face - except for the few times she had made him frown earlier that night. She, on the other hand, was not the same. How could she be, really? After what had taken place through their summer, and especially after the night at the lake. It made sense, though, that he was unaffected; after all, it wasn't _his_ heart that was spilled, only to be rejected with an excuse that even then, in the heat of the moment, seemed flimsy.

"Gabriella!" Taylor yelled from the middle of the escalator, "Why are you still standing there? Come on!"

With her purse now slung over her shoulder Gabriella quickly made her way to the escalator and up to the movie theater three floors above them.

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**AN:** Hello! So this is my second story, and I'm pretty nervous about it! I realize this chapter is a little slow but it gets better fast, I promise! I so so so strongly encourage you to review, give your thoughts and/or criticisms. This story can't get any better without feedback. Review! Comment! Suggest!

Thanks for reading!

Oh, and thank you so much for my lovely beta reader, geekspen!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Hi, I just want to say thank you to all those who reviewed, or alerted or favorited. I hope you enjoy this chapter. And of course, thank you so much to allllll my wonderful betas, it is so appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own HSM.

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In May, a month before graduation, Troy broke up with his long time girlfriend, Breanna. The break up was sudden, and just as suddenly, there was a phone call.* Troy had called Gabriella and said he just wanted to hang out sometime, just him and Gabriella. The call itself was surprising, but not all together unbelievable. Troy and Gabriella ran in similar circles through high school. They went to the same parties, had occasional and unremarkable conversations; sometimes they even sat at the same lunch table. It was generally impossible for the two to avoid the other, seeing as their best friends Chad and Taylor had been dating on and off since freshman year. Though the day that Gabriella and Troy finally hung out was something different all together.

They didn't find a time that worked for both of them until after graduation. So the following Wednesday evening, Gabriella met Troy at his house. His mom was in the yard, watering the grass and the few flowers that adorned the porch. While she waited for Troy, Lucille and Gabriella spoke briefly about her university choice and how it felt to be out of school. The squeaking and gentle closing of the screen door alerted them of Troy exiting the house. He said goodbye to his mom and motioned for Gabriella to follow. Once they reached Gabriella's car Troy pulled her into him fully, embracing her in a quick hug before speaking.

"Hey." His voice was soothing and his hands slid up and down her arms as he spoke.

"Hi," Gabriella replied, somewhat surprised and struggled to keep her blush to a minimum. Her arms crossed in front of her chest – he had never done anything like this before.

Troy leaned back against the passenger side door of her car, "Give me your keys," he said simply.

Gabriella made no move to hand them over. "What? No way." If her arms weren't already crossed, they surely would have been after he made that request.

"Come on, let me drive, you don't even know where we're going. Plus, I think it's weird when girls drive guys around."

Gabriella sighed and dropped her purse from her shoulder into the crook of her elbow, and rummaged around for her keys. "You are insured, right? For other people's cars?" She dangled her keys out in front of her for him to grab.

"'Course I am, El." With a smile and a click of her automatic lock, Troy opened her door and walked around the front to the drivers seat. He turned to her as he buckled in, "Away we go. You ready?"

"It's not exactly a journey to the moon, Troy."

He turned the key in the ignition and slid in a random CD from the overhead compartment. "You're right, it's not." And with that, they were off.

The car ride was uneventful; any awkward silences were avoided by the sounds of Arcade Fire filtering through the car speakers. Gabriella noticed that at red lights Troy tapped the beat of whatever song was playing on the steering wheel, and Troy noticed that when he would brake Gabriella's right foot would press down against the floorboards, miming his own. Twenty minutes after leaving the Bolton residence they found themselves at the local mall.

"Yeah, this definitely isn't the moon," Gabriella said as she unbuckled and grabbed her purse from the back seat.

Troy shrugged and met her on the other side of the car. "Want to look around anyway? We've got nothing better to do."

He didn't wait for an answer, instead he walked towards the entrance and Gabriella simply followed. They wandered the mall, Gabriella stopping at a few stores to admire their window displays before Troy dragged her in. She wasn't really sure what to call what they were doing that Wednesday evening. The word _date_ had never been explicitly said, but there were signs - he did open up her door when they first got in the car. And when they stopped at Jamba Juice and Gabriella reached for her wallet, Troy slid the worker his debit card and simply said "Together." Even if it wasn't a date, Gabriella knew the warmth she felt beginning to curl in her stomach when Troy lead her by the small of her back up the escalator was not something that typically happened with someone who was just a friend. They didn't end up making out against the walls near a bathroom, but Gabriella had a feeling whatever they were doing hadn't been just a casual hangout.

A few hours passed, and both Troy and Gabriella had bought nothing, with the exception of Troy's small Yankee Candle that he picked up as his mother requested.

"You want to go somewhere else now?" Troy asked.

Gabriella turned to their left; they were standing in front of the Abercrombie and Fitch. They could hear the techno music blasting inside and smell the cologne that was more than likely smothering the stores occupants, a couple of whom must have been part of East High's class of 2008. There couldn't have been a more appropriate store to make Gabriella want to leave.

"I'd love to." And with that, the two made their way back to Gabriella's car.

They drove around aimlessly for a while, neither Troy nor Gabriella was hungry so dinner was quickly ruled out, and being two semi-broke teenagers there weren't many options for dinner anyway.

Gabriella pressed the FM radio button on her car's audio consul, switching from station to station, never settling on one. She played with the window button, rolling it down, then up over and over again. Troy meanwhile, kept driving; they were now somewhere in Albuquerque's industrial district by the looks of the many large grey warehouses and Gabriella sighed.

"Troy, we're wasting gas, let's just go back."

He glanced at her face through his mirrored aviators he had put on as the sun was setting and laughed a slow, low chuckle. "Are you always this uptight Gabriella?"

She sputtered, "I'm not uptight, Troy!"

"Yeah, you kind of are."

"No! I'm not! You're not the one who has to pay for the gas you're burning away, not to mention the amount of pollution this is probably creating for the world…"

"Which I'm sure is massive," he joked, the sarcasm painfully obvious.

"Whatever," Gabriella rushed her words, hoping the urgency of her voice would make the request seem more necessary. "Look, I'm not uptight, but I am getting cramped in here so can we please just go somewhere?"

Troy took off his glasses, the sun had set enough so it was hidden behind the mountains. "Yeah, sorry, do you want to go back to my place?"

Gabriella released a breath, "Yes please."

Forty-five minutes later Troy parked Gabriella's car back where she had given him the keys all those hours ago. His mom was no longer in the garden, the porch light was on and the front door left open, only the screen door protecting the house from the insects. Together they walked up the few stairs leading to the porch and through the front door.

"Mom! Dad!" Troy called out. "They're here somewhere, their cars haven't moved all day," he said to Gabriella who was following closely behind him.

"Hey Troy," Jack Bolton said as he immerged from the kitchen with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, "Mom wanted me to remind you to ke-", he stopped himself when he saw Troy's visitor. "Oh, hello."

Gabriella moved from behind Troy and gave a slight wave, "Hi, Mr. Bolton."

Jack smiled, "Oh, hi Gabriella! I bet you never thought you'd see me again after P.E. this last semester did you?"

Gabriella laughed a little, "Haha, I don't know, Mr. Bolton, you never can be sure."

"Please, call me Jack, after all, you're out of school now, right?"

Gabriella nodded, about to elaborate when she was interrupted.

Troy spoke up, his patience wearing thin, "Okay, Dad, well we'll be downstairs watching a movie if you need me. Tell mom her candle is on the kitchen counter, please."

"Will do. There are some cookies left in the kitchen if you two want some, Lucille just made them," he wiggled his plate of cookies towards the teens in an attempt to waft the smell.

Troy nodded his head and walked past his dad and into the kitchen, Gabriella followed. "Thanks, Dad."

"Yep," and he continued his way to the stairs. Halfway up them his head popped from over the banister, "Keep the rec room door open, and Gabriella needs to leave by two o'clock, okay?"

"Sure thing, Dad," Troy responded without bothering to look up as he gathered a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk.

"Goodnight son, goodnight Gabriella."

There was a chorus of goodnights and then silence until they heard the bedroom door upstairs close.

Troy handed her the plate of cookies and one glass of milk, "Sorry about that. I know it's weird seeing a teacher outside of school."

Gabriella shook her head no, "Don't worry about it, it wasn't bad at all."

Troy nodded, "Good. Come on, we're going down to the basement." He opened the door in the hall directly across from the kitchen and led her down the stairs into a large, fully carpeted rec room. There was a leather sectional sofa on one side facing a large screen and projector for movies, in the other was a pool table and a sparsely filled bookshelf. Troy plopped down on the couch, pulling the ottoman over to use as a table and sat his drink down on it.

"Gabi, come here," he coaxed.

She followed his request and placed to cookies next to his milk before sitting down next to him. Their hips grazed each other at first, but Gabriella moved to separate them and shifted so she was sitting crisscross facing him.

"So," he said, picking up a cookie and the two remotes for the television, "do you want to watch a movie?"

"Yeah, sure."

Troy bit into his cookie and switched on a movie, it was one of those magician movies from 2006, but she couldn't remember which. They were sitting for less than thirty minutes, until Gabriella started to fidget again. This time she moved a pillow at first, adjusting it behind her back, then on her side, then under her feet on the ottoman where they were resting.

Troy paused the movie, "You don't want to watch it, do you?"

She gave him a guilty smile, "Not really…I don't know what's gotten into me…I just can't sit still."

"Do you want to go outside? We can lay out in my backyard," Troy suggested.

Gabriella nodded her head vigorously, "That sounds wonderful!"

Once outside Troy fell down onto the grass next to the basketball court, and Gabriella followed suit.

"This is lovely, thank you Troy."

He laughed, "What do you mean, thank you? We're just outside. But I am glad it's so easy to make you happy." He let his arms fall straight out at his sides, "I love it out here…I'm really going to miss it."

"Really?" Gabriella asked in vague disbelief, "it doesn't make you remember all the times where your dad pushed you too hard?"

Troy continued to stare at the sky, "My dad did what he thought was best, and it was, I mean look where it got me…a full ride to a well known university…I can hardly complain."

Gabriella nodded.

"But that's not really why I love it out here, anyway. I love it out here because it reminds me of when everything was simpler. Chad and I used to play out here until it was almost pitch black. Not just basketball either. We would play cops and robbers, and jump on the trampoline," he laughed. "Actually, one time I was doing a flip on the trampoline and almost landed on my neck," he gestured to the trampoline-less lawn. "My mom got rid of it after that…but out here we could just be kids, you know?"

Gabriella scooted closer to him, letting her head lay on his outstretched arm to stare up at the sky with him, "Yeah," she whispered. They both paused for a beat, maybe because she had moved closer to him without being asked and her torso was currently huddled tightly against Troy's, or maybe because there was just nothing else to say. Gabriella softly laughed, "I always feel like I need to whisper when I'm looking at the stars. Have you ever seen a picture of a star up close?"

Troy shook his head no.

"They're amazing. They glow these crazy colors - they're beautiful, and they look so soft, the exact opposite of what you would expect from a place as inhospitable as the universe."

Troy looked down at Gabriella with her head resting on his bicep, shadows cast on her cheeks from the moonlight hitting her eyelashes. She looked incredibly peaceful, and all day she had said these things. These things that appeared so casual to her, but to him felt like profoundly thoughtful observations. There was no word to describe her other than perfect. He was kicking himself inwardly, then. How could he have passed someone clearly so wonderful in the hall without a second thought for four years? He didn't know the answer to his question, so instead he let his arm bend at the elbow and rested his hand on her hair.

They both were quiet then, merely enjoying each other's presence and the beauty of the stars above them.

"It's pretty crazy, huh?" he asked while drumming his fingers against her curls as if trying to gain the courage to play with her hair properly.

"What's crazy?"

"That we aren't awkward at all. I was preparing myself, you know. Ever since I called you the first time to suggest this thing, this get together, or whatever. I had thought it was going to be awkward. That I'd make terrible jokes and you wouldn't laugh so then I'd make more and…well in my mind by the end of the night I pictured you wanting to kill yourself." He paused to comprehend what just escaped his mouth. "Not that I want you to kill yourself, because I don't. At all. Ever." He paused again, "Don't kill yourself, please."

Gabriella giggled, rolling onto her side so her face was only inches away from his neck, "That little monologue was probably the only awkward moment tonight, huh?"

Troy dragged a hand down his face, "Yep, I think so. Way to go me." He waved his finger in the air like a flag.

She giggled once more, then rolled to lie on her back again, still using Troy's bicep as a pillow, "so, what do you think it means? That we're so comfortable with each other…that we have been from the get go, really."

Troy shifted so that he was lying on his side looking down at Gabriella, his hand still lying on top of her hair. "I don't know, that we should have been friends from the beginning? Why weren't we friends from the beginning?"

Gabriella laughed, though this time it was a sad laugh, a regretful laugh. "I don't know either. Maybe status quo, maybe our own stubbornness. Maybe we just never got around to it. It is a shame, though, isn't it?"

"No, not really," Troy licked his lips, "I mean we've got now, right? We've got the summer. You're going to Harvard next year, I'm going to Boston U with Chad, we can be friends now, right?"

He smiled down at her, his blue eyes sparkling and Gabriella was powerless to say no. She reached up and placed her hand on his shoulder. She let it slide down his arm, enjoying the stark difference between the cool cotton of his green t-shirt and the smooth warmth of his skin. Her hand slid down his arm feeling the contours of his elbow, his forearm, until finally her fingers danced over his knuckles before enclosing his hand in hers. In retrospect, if ever asked why she did that, Gabriella wouldn't be able to give a definite answer. It could have been a way to comfort him, because she knew in the end it would be impossible for them to really be friends. Or it could have been because there was, and always had been, a certain force drawing her to touch him. Even in school, when she walked by him in the halls her hands itched to be able to grasp his like they were now.

"Yeah, Troy, we can be friends now," she said quietly with a small smile.

Troy looked down at her and tilted his head to the right. Had she really just done that? Was he really holding her hand? He laced their fingers. Now he was holding her hand for sure. What was happening? When he called her those several weeks ago he really had no intention of kissing her on the first date, if this was a date. Is a date. But looking down at her, ebony curls fanned out on the green grass of his backyard smiling up at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes he knew he had to. His tongue darted out once more to wet his lips as he leaned down and his eyes locked on hers. She made no move to stop him, but millimeters away from Gabriella's lips Troy spoke for a final time, "I'm glad we can be friends, El," and then his lips crashed into hers. His fingers that had once been drumming against her curls now dug into her hair with relief as soon as he felt her kiss back. The kiss itself wasn't long; it was slow and probing, yet it had an urgency Gabriella was surprised to find inside herself. It was Troy who pulled away first, but it was only inches before he came back down to peck her lips quickly, though it was mostly his smile pressed against her parted lips. He rolled back over, but pulled her with him, tucked tightly in his side. Gabriella snuggled closer, the air around them getting a little chilly but she refused to move. There were no words spoken after the kiss, instead they continued to watch the sky, comforted merely by each other's presence until they both drifted off to sleep.

Around sunrise Gabriella awoke in the dewy grass of Troy's backyard. She checked her phone, 5:19 AM, and luckily no missed calls from her mother. She sat up, much to the dismay of Troy, who grumbled sleepily before his own eyes fluttered open and back closed again, not really seeing. Gabriella smiled and bent down to kiss his cheek. She lingered there, inhaling the smell of his laundry detergent and the wet grass below him before she grabbed her purse and left the Bolton's house about twenty times happier than she came.

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**AN:** Review, please. :)


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hey, here's chapter three. Hope you like it. Review! :) And always, thank you so much to my lovely beta readers. You guys are awesome!

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Weeks passed after the first encounter Gabriella had with Troy since coming to Massachusetts for college. Thanksgiving was looming over their heads and for the first time in her life, she would be spending it without her mother and brother at home. Instead, she would be trapped in Taylor's apartment with Troy. Of course Taylor, Chad, Zeke and Kelsi would be there too – Zeke and Kelsi were taking the train from New York, but it didn't make a difference. There could be a billion people crushed into a room one by one and Gabriella would still be able to tell when Troy entered or left.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Gabriella walked into her dorm room to find her roommate Amelia typing away on the computer with her macroeconomics book propped up on the desk next to her.

"Hello," Gabriella said sullenly before tossing her key ring on her desk and falling face first onto her bed. The clicking of the keyboard slowed to a stop and Amelia gave Gabriella a puzzled look from behind her laptop screen. She laughed at the scene before her inwardly, not wanting to upset Gabriella, Amelia had no idea what had suddenly gotten Gabriella so down.

"What's wrong, Gabi?" she came to sit next to Gabriella on her bed and rubbed her back soothingly. Gabriella sighed; she had such a good roommate.

"Thanksgiving!" Gabriella half exclaimed half moaned, "I am going to die."

Amelia laughed out loud this time, "I'm sure some turkey and cranberry sauce won't do anything but maybe make you a little sleepy, Gabi."

At this Gabriella rolled over on her back to look Amelia in the eye, "No. No no no no. You don't understand, it's not the food that's going to kill me, it's the company!" Gabriella put a hand to her forehead, "Maybe I can still get a flight back to Albuquerque for this Thursday."

Amelia looked more than a little confused, "I thought you said your mom and brother were going to your uncle's house in North Carolina." Gabriella just groaned, but Amelia continued, "I'm sure it can't be that bad. Aren't you and Taylor going to have a little dinner to yourselves? Maybe watch the parade and go shopping Friday?"

"Nope." It was a simple answer but Amelia knew there was more.

"If you're not going shopping then what will you be doing?"

Gabriella grumbled something, curious about how someone so thick could have managed to get into Harvard before explaining. "We're still going shopping, it's just that there were a couple more people added to the guest list for Thanksgiving day."

"Oh?" Amelia asked curiously.

"Yes. Chad and Troy will be spending their Thanksgiving with us in Taylor's apartment, and a couple of our friends who go to school in New York will be coming up too, but obviously it's not them that I'm worried about."

"Oh." This time Amelia's 'oh' was not a question and had a tone that was instead weighing the options of what to say next, the ramifications of the newly added Thanksgiving guests well known to her.

When Gabriella first moved in, Amelia had moved in the day prior, they hit it off spectacularly. Gabriella had a theory, which she shared with Amelia, Gabriella felt that it was easy to get to know someone that had never met the people who had previously been a part of one's life. And so, with that theory in mind, Gabriella spilled her life story to Amelia, and she did the same to Gabriella. Gabriella told Amelia all about how her father left when she was seven to 'start a new life for them' but never ended up coming back, and about her summer with Troy and its end only weeks previously. In turn, Amelia told Gabriella of her life in Connecticut, her never present parents and triplet brothers (Luke, Dan, and Matt) who had all practically raised her and were relatively well known in the semi-pro tennis circle.

"You said that more of your friends were coming? Besides Troy and Chad?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Well then," Amelia said, suddenly chipper, "just avoid him! Hang out with whatshisname…" she snapped her fingers trying to remember the name, "the guy at the cooking school."

"Zeke."

"Zeke!"

Gabriella gave Amelia a look that clearly said that just hanging out with Zeke wasn't going to solve her problems.

"Well…I've got to finish my econ homework! You're welcome!"

Gabriella sighed and figured being unproductive wouldn't make her feel any better, and perhaps homework would take her mind off of the situation.

Gabriella's cell phone beeped from inside her book bag just as she was reaching for her psychology book. It was Taylor.

_Hey, for Thursday come over around 10:00 if you can, I need your help getting everything ready._

Gabriella responded quickly, _Sure, I'll be there._

"There." This time Gabriella was addressing Amelia, "I'm going to Taylor's. Happy?"

Amelia didn't bother looking up from where she was highlighting bits of her econ book, "Sure am."

Wednesday passed quicker than Gabriella would have liked, she drove Amelia to the train station around 8 o'clock that night and came back to her empty dorm room and promptly fell asleep. Before she had time to comprehend what was going on she was at Taylor's apartment digging out enough plates and utensils for the six of them to use.

Taylor sat a stack of plates on the counter next to the forks and spoons before she called out to Gabriella who was hidden behind the cupboard, still looking for extra dishes. "Zeke and Kelsi's train is coming in at 11:35, we should go pick them up."

Gabriella briefly glanced at her watch and agreed. Together they set off in Taylor's black Corolla that could have easily been older than they were. The weather was that of a typical November day in Boston. Earlier in the morning it had been raining, just a light drizzle, but now it was cold, but not cold enough for ice or snow. When they arrived at the train station Zeke and Kelsi's train had yet to arrive.

"This is weird, huh?" Taylor said as they both sat down on the cool, wooden benches to wait for the train to come in.

"Kind of, yeah," Gabriella started, "I feel so old, you know? I mean we're only 18, well you're 19, but here we are greeting friends at the train station for Thanksgiving."

Taylor nodded in agreement, "No kidding. I feel like there should be a stroller with a kid in it next to us or something."

Gabriella shuddered, "Oh, don't even joke about that! Remember that time we had to watch your nephew?"

Taylor laughed, "How could I forget! If that wasn't an accurate example of what single motherhood is like I don't know what else could be. That was terrifying."

Gabriella laughed too, remembering the screaming one year old, "No kidding. It was only for a day, too! Could you imagine a lifetime?!"

Both Taylor and Gabriella's chuckles died down as a train slowed to a stop and people started filing out. Gabriella checked her phone, 11:35 on the dot.

"Gabi! Taylor!" Kelsi came walking towards the two girls grinning broadly, a small backpack strapped to her back. Zeke was following her closely behind carrying two large, black, rolling suitcases.

Gabriella hugged Kelsi first, asking about the train ride up and how Julliard had been treating her. Taylor turned to Zeke who was still struggling to drag his suitcases along.

"Zeke," she said through a smile, "you know you're only staying for the weekend, right?"

"Ha ha, Taylor. Most of this is stuff for your kitchen, you couldn't expect me to let you do all the cooking, could you?"

"-Or any," Kelsi interrupted, still standing with her arm around Gabriella's shoulder.

Taylor looked as though she was going to cry. Just on the way to the train station Taylor was telling Gabriella how worried she was about messing up the dinner. It hadn't occurred to either of them that Zeke would be willing to do the cooking.

She finally walked – more like ran – towards him and grasped him in a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

After Taylor finally released Zeke to welcome Kelsi he gave Gabriella a quick side hug and they all began walking towards the parking lot.

Once back in Taylor's apartment complex they found Chad and Troy sitting on the wooden steps leading up to Taylor's door looking cold and impatient. ("You told me to be here at 12:00!" "Yeah, well maybe you should have texted me when you were on your way and this wouldn't have been a problem!" "I _did_ text you, McKessie." "Well then maybe you should have called!") Gabriella got out of the passenger seat and looked up to the landing and to Troy. He was still sitting on the stairs with his hands clasped between his knees, his stare locked with hers; it was as if he wasn't blinking. Then, it stopped and his gaze softened and he gave her a smile that Gabriella ignored, instead she turned around to help Zeke and Kelsi pull their stuff out of the trunk.

When they all made it inside Taylor's apartment Zeke, Chad and Troy all hurried together for a short, manly, group- hug. Taylor showed Kelsi where her and Zeke's suitcases could go and Zeke made his way into the kitchen with Gabriella as his guide. Taylor pushed open the door to the kitchen once everyone was settled to grab drinks and Gabriella could hear a football game already playing in the living room. However, Gabriella herself stayed perched on one of the kitchen barstools and chatted with Zeke. Eventually, after Gabriella's continuous attempts at asking to help Zeke practically forced her out into the living room with the rest of the gang. Taylor and Chad seemed to have made up, as they were both crammed together in the oversized armchair watching the game. Kelsi was sitting crisscrossed on the floor, pages and pages of manuscript paper spread around her. On the couch was Troy, sitting, though it was more like lying, against the arm looking bored. Gabriella figured she might as well try to enjoy herself and sat down on the couch, leaning against the side and put her feet up on the coffee table. She watched the game for a while, until her restlessness got the best of her. Again, she went into the kitchen, and began speaking to Zeke as soon as the door opened.

"Zeke, please. Let me do something."

Zeke sighed as he stepped away from the oven and wiped his hands on the front of his apron. "Fine, I guess you can go to the store and get some more mini marshmallows for the sweet potatoes and another bag of rolls, just in case."

Gabriella had to restrain herself from jumping up and down in glee, "Thank you!"

Suddenly, Troy's head popped up from behind the fridge door, two cokes in his hand, apparently grabbing more drinks.

"You're going to the store?" He didn't wait for the answer, "Great. I'll come with, Taylor doesn't have any Dr. Pepper."

Gabriella looked sick, her one chance at a break, as small as it would be, was ruined, but nevertheless she tried to save it. "Oh, well, you know…I could always just pick it up for you. That way you won't miss any of the game." She cringed, knowing her poor excuse wouldn't stand a chance.

"Don't worry about it, El. I know how much you hate driving in the city, and the game I want to see won't be on for hours."

Gabriella said nothing, knowing she had lost the argument, grabbed her purse and walked out the door with Troy on her heels. On the way out Troy turned to the three still in the living room; they were looking at him curiously, to which he responded with a smile as though he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar and told them they'd be back in less than an hour. When Troy walked down the stairs he saw a familiar sight. Gabriella was leaning against the passenger side door of Taylor's car, one arm folded under the other with the key chain dangling from her index finger. Troy strolled over, the amusement written clear on his face.

"Hmm, am I the only one getting déjà vu here?"

Gabriella didn't answer. She just held out her arm more and jingled the keys on her finger until he took them. She had apparently already unlocked the doors, because she turned her back to him and slid into the seat. Troy jogged across the front of the car and into his seat and they were off.

The roads were nearly empty, as they should be on Thanksgiving day, but the ride couldn't end quick enough for Gabriella. Before Troy had pulled the keys out of the ignition she had hopped out of the car and started off towards the entrance. Troy followed her, giving her enough space to appease her yet close enough that he could hear when she asked him to grab a basket. He caught up with her, then, to hand the basket over and they continued on through the isles. The Dr. Pepper was easiest to find, it was in the isle directly in front of the doors. Just as Gabriella was about to grab the 12-pack Troy beat her to it. She glared. He shrugged.

"I could have taken that," she said under her breath and walked to the end of the aisle, about to take a left.

From behind her she heard, "You're going the wrong way."

Without a thank you or even a nod of her head Gabriella promptly turned and walked right. A few aisles down Gabriella and Troy (who was now walking right next to her) searched for the bags of mini marshmallows. Despite Gabriella's obvious foul mood Troy didn't stop talking.

They passed the top ramen section, "You know," he said, assuming she would find this interesting, "when I first got to Boston U I thought I would be living off this stuff." He looked to her as if waiting for her to acknowledge she had been paying attention – she nodded her head vaguely, so he continued. "I haven't had one bag!"

Gabriella went to reach for the marshmallows, but again Troy got to them first, this time handing them to her to place in the basket.

"That was just fascinating, Troy," she said and continued on her way with a roll of her eyes, this time to the bakery section in the back of the store. They walked together this time; their hands occasionally bumping accidently, each time Gabriella tearing fiercely away as though Troy had done it on purpose. On the way, Troy stopped by the cereal, comparing the fruit loop and cinnamon toast crunch prices.

"Troy, you don't need cereal right now, let's just get the bread and go."

He laughed and put down both boxes, "This feels so domestic," he said, with a sort of wonder.

There was no hidden message, Troy had not intentionally meant to cause any kind of reaction in Gabriella, but he did. He chose all those months ago to say no, it could have been domestic if he wanted it to be. If he had said yes. She let him consider the cereal for a moment longer, and just when Gabriella was about to pull him away a tall, leggy, red headed woman appeared and tapped him on the shoulder.

She looked as though she was dressed for a business meeting rather than Thanksgiving dinner. With her black patent leather heals she stood at least five inches over Gabriella, and about the same height as Troy.

"Hi," she greeted him with a blindingly white smile and a kiss on each cheek, "I thought it was you, Troy, right? We met at a party."

His free hand found the back of his neck and let out a nervous chuckle, "Oh! o-of course," he stammered, "How could I forget?"

Gabriella bit her cheek, the signs were all there – the nervous chuckle, the back of the neck rub. He hadn't the slightest idea of who she was.

Troy's gesture to Gabriella shot her out of her thoughts, "-and this is Gabriella."

The girl who had yet to mention her name glanced down at Gabriella, somehow managing to lose her smile in the process.

"Oh, hello," she said with a grimace.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Hi."

The unnamed red head spoke, "Well," she glanced at her watch, "I should get going, but you should give me a call some time, Troy." She pulled a pen out of her purse and quickly jotted down her number on his forearm before winking and walking away.

"Katie," Troy said, as he twisted his arm to read the name above the cell number, as if now just remembering.

Gabriella turned the opposite direction, heading towards the bakery, under her breath she whispered angrily, "She didn't even have any groceries."

The rest of the shopping went quickly, the rolls were easy to find and soon after Troy had fought (and won) to pay for the groceries the couple was leaving the store and walking back to Taylor's parked car. Just as Gabriella twisted the key to open the trunk Troy spoke for the first time since saying the red head's name.

"I know you could have."

Gabriella, who was placing the grocery bags in the trunk sighed, clearly tired. "That I could have _what,_ Troy?"

"That you could have taken the Dr. Pepper. I was just trying to be helpful." He threw the case of soda in the trunk and slammed it shut before walking to the front door without a second glance. Gabriella stayed standing behind the car, watching him through the back window. He ran both hands through his hair and rested his elbows on the steering wheel. Even without seeing his face she could tell he was upset, which always seemed to occur whenever the two were alone together. Gabriella kicked herself. She shouldn't feel guilty. He was the one who said no. He had started it and he had ended it. Gabriella had a right to be _angry_. But she wasn't angry. She was frustrated. With a quick breath she walked around the back and into the car again.

The ride back to Taylor's was tense but luckily very quick. When Troy opened the front door it was clear by the wonderful smell of turkey and stuffing that dinner was almost ready. There was no room for a dining room table in Taylor's small apartment so dinner was served buffet style in the kitchen and enjoyed in the living room. Gabriella, however, chose to remain in the kitchen to eat her dinner perched on the barstool. She could hear the conversation in the living room, Taylor and Kelsi were talking about New York's feel compared to Boston and Chad, Zeke, and Troy were not talking at all, instead the football game replaced their voices. The kitchen door swung open just as Gabriella finished her turkey to reveal Taylor with her empty plate in hand.

"Gabi," Taylor started, her voice pleading, "Come out into the living room."

Gabriella didn't look up and mixed her mashed potatoes and corn together on her plate, "No."

Taylor pulled out the second barstool and sat next to Gabriella, "What's wrong with you?"

Gabriella dropped her fork on the plate with a clatter, she was still frustrated about Troy at the grocery store, "Nothing is wrong with me!"

Taylor sighed and hushed Gabriella, "Don't lie to me, Gabi." She frowned, "I'm your best friend, and I see things."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Oh do you? What do you see, then?"

Taylor spoke in hastened whispers, "I see that you avoid Troy like a plague, and even when you're in the same room as him you don't look him in the eyes. I saw you made up some excuse why you couldn't hang out with Chad, Troy, and I this past weekend, even though I know you had nothing to do. At the movies, I saw how awkward you two were! You pretended he wasn't even there once Chad and I came back. And I saw at our barbeque last summer that you didn't eat hardly anything, and I know you, Gabriella! You love barbeque."

Gabriella said nothing but grabbed her fork again and continued to mix her leftovers together.

"What I don't understand," Taylor said, her voice rich in curiosity, "is _why_. What did he do to you, Gab? I know you guys hung out that night at the party, but that was only for a little bit, right? You don't even know him that well."

Gabriella forced herself not to scream that she knew Troy better than anyone. She swallowed in an attempt to soothe her quickly drying throat before she said casually, "He didn't do anything to me. I just don't like him much, is all."

Taylor didn't buy it, "But during the summer time you didn't mind when we all hung out, you were friendly with everyone!"

Before Taylor could ask Gabriella more questions Chad and Zeke came back the kitchen to get more food. Chad pressed a lazy kiss on Taylor's cheek and told her to come back in the living room with him, and like, that Taylor and Gabriella's conversation was over.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Hey, so in case you haven't noticed I upped the rating, though I feel like I should mention it's a very very soft M. I hope you enjoyyyy.

If Gabriella was asked a month ago if she was planning on having a secret affair with one Troy Bolton during the summer after their senior year, she would have laughed. She would have laughed so hard she cried. So when Gabriella stepped through the threshold of a random house, its party in full swing, and her only goal to see the very same Troy Bolton it was a bit surreal. It had been roughly a month since Troy and Gabriella shared their first kiss. They continued to spend time together in secret, mostly outside of Albuquerque at rivers and parks in order to avoid those who would recognize them. A week ago they took a day trip to the Grand Canyon and a picture of the two of them taken that day was now the background of Troy's phone. This was their first event, if you could call it that, in which their friends would be able to actively see them interact. Taylor had called Gabriella that late afternoon with the requisite invite to a house party being thrown a couple of neighborhoods down from her own. Taylor had been inviting Gabriella to parties for the latter half of their high school years, though her invites had been, until tonight, declined. To Taylor's surprise, Gabriella accepted, and she stuttered that she and Chad would pick Gabriella up at 9:45.

"Are you sure you don't want to hang with me and Taylor, Gab?" Chad asked just as they were approaching the open door to the house.

Gabriella tried to hide her grimace and not to roll her eyes. She knew if she stayed with Taylor and Chad she would end up sitting next to them sipping her red plastic cup full of some alcoholic beverage while they drunkenly made out on the sofa.

"No, I think I'll pass."

Taylor squeezed her shoulder, "I'll text you, or something."

Gabriella agreed and walked away from them to make her way into the kitchen where the alcohol always seemed to be served. Gabriella poured herself a cup full of some random mixed drink, and began to wander around the house. The living room was her first stop, where the bass of the music was the strongest and all open carpet space was crammed with bodies grinding, kissing, and dancing. Gabriella left the living room unfazed and made her way down a hallway and around to the dining room, where what looked like the second round of a beer pong tournament was taking place. Gabriella took another generous drink of the liquid in her cup and suddenly had no desire to party. The first level of the house itself was built in a kind of a circle, and so she entered the kitchen again, from the opposite side. She shuffled to the middle island, filled her cup up again for good measure, and walked out the door into the deserted back yard.

Gabriella took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air outside. The yard itself was unfenced, lush, green, and had gentle rolling hills sloping down towards the tree line at the edge of the grass. She grinned – the perfect place for hiding. Gabriella walked down one, two, three of the miniature hills and fell back against the lawn. The grass was soft and still warm from the afternoon sun as it tickled her bare legs, exposed by the white denim shorts she wore along with a loose, purple, sequined tank top.

As soon as she hit the grass she was forced to turn on her side to retrieve her vibrating cell phone from the back pocket of her shorts. It was a text message. It was Troy.

_I just saw you in the dining room, where did you go?_

Gabriella laughed out loud before replying, her cup held between her teeth as she text back.

_Creeper much? Why didn't you just come up to me then?_

Thirty seconds passed, during which Gabriella took another sip of her beverage, and her phone buzzed again, lighting up the grass around it.

_You looked like you were searching for something. I didn't want to interrupt._

Gabriella was half way finished with her message back (_So instead you followed me around lurking in the shadows?) _when she heard his voice from behind.

"Gotcha. I should have known you'd be out here. Not much in the mood for partying?" Troy didn't wait for her to offer, he came to sit down next to her, running his hand down the back of her hair and kissing the top of her head in greeting.

Gabriella, who had twisted around to get a look at him when he had first spoken, turned back around to face the trees. She didn't respond verbally, instead she lifted her cup in an imaginary toast before taking another drink.

Troy stared at the gentle lines of her exposed neck as she tipped her head back to swallow, "You know what they say about people drinking alone, don't you?" He asked.

She sat the cup back down, twisting it back and forth in the grass so it wouldn't tip over, "No, I don't think I do."

Troy smiled and pulled his beer bottle from behind his back, "Neither do I. Good thing I'm here then, huh? No reason to know if you're not by yourself."

Gabriella smiled back and ignored a text from Taylor she had just received, "Cheers!" And her plastic red cup clinked against his glass bottle's neck.

Troy took a quick swig of his beer and Gabriella leaned into his side.

"So why did you really come out here?"

He could feel Gabriella shrug her shoulders, "The reason you said. I just didn't feel like partying. The only reason I came was so I could see you, remember?"

Troy laughed and kissed her forehead, responding against her skin, "How could I forget."

Gabriella tipped her head up to lock eyes with Troy. She smiled a closed mouth smile and stretched to meet her lips with his in a quick, 'happy to see you' kiss. Just as she pulled back Troy bent down to reciprocate, though just as he attempted to deepen the kiss his phone began to blast Kanye West.

Gabriella looked at him questioningly. "Chad," Troy said apologetically.

"Yeah, man?" Troy answered, somewhat impatiently.

Gabriella could hear Chad screaming through the speaker. "Dude where are you?! Travis is talkin' shit 'bout your pong skills."

Troy glanced at Gabriella with a raise of his brows in question. Gabriella nodded.

"I'll meet you in the dining room in five."

Troy pulled his ear away from the phone, but they could both still hear Chad exclaim, "But man, where are you?" Troy hung up.

"So what's the story?" Troy asked Gabriella, "Are we just going to walk in together and pretend we ran into each other on the way? Or are we going to be honest and say we were hanging out in the back yard?"

Gabriella laughed, "Why is it that we always end up in someone's backyard?" Troy shrugged and Gabriella continued. "I say we tell the truth to a degree. Tell them…that we were talking, but not outside. Tell them we ran into each other in the hall."

Troy had stood up as Gabriella spoke and reached down pull her up after him. Gabriella grabbed his beer bottle and her cup off the ground in one hand and they made their way back into the house where the party was still going strong. Gabriella held onto Troy's belt loops as he moved slowly through the crowd of people that had formed around the entrance to the dining room ("Hey Troy!" "Troy, my man!" "Troy, show that punk Travis what's up!") When Gabriella and Troy both made it into the center of the room a large table was visible that had been cleared except for the triangle of cups on each end.

Taylor had found Gabriella straight away. She wasn't drunk, but her cheeks were a bit pink and she seemed to sway slightly when standing still. "I didn't think _you'd_ come with Troy. Were you with him?"

Gabriella took a sip from her drink in hopes the cup would hide her face, or make her disappear all together, "Yeah, we were just talking in the hall."

Taylor seemed confused, "Oh? Chad and I were just there and we didn't see you guys…"

"Hmm." Gabriella feigned confusion. "You must have just missed us. So what's going on? Who's Travis?"

Gabriella's explanation seemed good enough for Taylor and she pointed to the back of a tall, brown haired, shirtless boy a few feet away and who was now positioned at the opposite end of the table as Troy.

"Troy is defending his honor," Taylor laughed suddenly. "He's the unofficial holder of most consecutive shots made in one game of beer pong."

"Really?" Gabriella asked, this was something she really hadn't known, though it became clear as Troy bounced his ping pong ball gracefully into one of Travis' cups that he was, indeed, quite a good shot.

"Oh yeah," Taylor said as though this was knowledge everyone possessed. "It's all the basketball that does it. Never misses a shot anywhere, does he?"

Gabriella looked around at the room now packed full of people and observed more than a dozen girls watching hungrily as Troy's tongue became exposed between his lips in concentration. She found quiet solace in the fact that it was she who he had been spending his time with before Chad called him into the dining room. That it was she who he had kissed earlier in the evening and it would be she who he would be kissing later in the night.

"No, Taylor," Gabriella murmured as she watched Troy sink his ball into another one of the cups at the end of the table, "he sure doesn't."

It was then that Gabriella realized something pivotal in regards to her relationship with Troy. She was jealous of those girls watching him and within that jealousy marked a turning point. Being jealous meant wanting Troy for herself, and only herself. It meant that she wasn't okay with other girls looking at him – touching him. Gabriella took a large swig of her drink and left to refill it and to clear her head. This was bad. After they first kissed in Troy's backyard they never talked about whether or not they were exclusive, they hadn't even discussed why it was Gabriella whom Troy had called when he broke up with Breanna in the first place. And now Gabriella was getting jealous at the mere thought of other girls watching Troy, let alone kissing him – being with him. She came back into the dining room to see Travis miss his first and last cup. Troy had won and she fought the urge to run her hands up his back and kiss his neck in congratulations.

There were high fives and awkward side hugs from girls who thought they had a chance. Chad was at his side as soon as Travis missed, punching Troy's arm and telling Travis to suck it. Troy's eyes were locked on Gabriella. He could have been a little drunk; Gabriella was starting to feel the familiar fuzzy feeling of intoxication too. He must have been, Gabriella decided, when he walked away from Chad and made a beeline for her without a second glance back.

He pulled her away from Taylor, "Come dance with me, Gabriella."

"Troy, we can't. People will see us…They'll see, they'll ask questions…There will be facebook updates about us!"

He said nothing but walked out of the dining room, her wrist wrapped tightly in his hand. He tugged her through the crowd that had always, and did again tonight, seem to part willingly when they saw him approaching. "No one will notice us in the living room. We'll just be another couple." He gave Gabriella a smirk and his thumb ran across her knuckles as he pulled her tight to him once they reached a fairly secluded corner of the living-room-turned-dance-floor. Gabriella nodded and did her best to remain standing when he simultaneously let the word couple slip from his mouth and slide his thumb across her knuckles.

In Gabriella's years as a student, fellow classmates and teachers alike always first perceived her as shy and timid, but as days went by she proved to be authoritative and assured in her abilities. It was the same with dancing; it was easy, once she got started. When Troy invited her to dance he had no idea what he was getting himself into. He had expected to coax her into it during the first couple songs and have her stop him a couple songs later, but that was not the case. It was like they were both moving in slow motion, the people around them just blurs. Gabriella's hands had risen above her head; her hips swayed to the slow but powerful beat of the song playing overhead. Troy danced with her, moving closer so the fabrics of each of their shirts were lightly grazing. His eyes bore into hers as his own palms slipped down her arms and past her shoulders to rest on her waist, just below her breasts. He pulled her flush against him and they danced together, in sync. Gabriella's hands fell to his shoulders and clasped behind his neck where she raked her hands through his hair in the opposite direction it grew naturally. His head fell down to be near hers, their faces inches apart.

"Kiss me," he demanded.

She pursed her lips, "No."

Troy's face got closer to Gabriella's and when his chin brushed her cheek it was clear he needed to shave. "Kiss me," he told her again, "kiss me or I'll kiss you."

"You wouldn't," Gabriella stated, "Not in front of all these people."

Troy's hands moved from grazing the undersides of her breasts with the pads of his thumbs to grip her ass and draw her tighter against him. His mouth moved from her cheek to her ear in a split second, his breath was moist and Gabriella swore she felt the edge of his teeth scrape against the shell of her ear, "Try me, El."

He moved away from her ear and smirked down at her; she wet her lips and lifted her chin so their eyes met. "I'm trying you, Troy."

It was as if a bomb had exploded inside of him. He bent down, their lips met and everything began to move in real time again. The people around them were no longer dancing in slow motion, no one was watching them, and Gabriella's tongue slid into his mouth with little resistance. He pulled her bottom lip with his teeth and their noses bumped together in a clumsy but passion filled kiss. It wasn't gentle like their others had been – instead it was needy and long overdue. Troy moved from her lips down to where her neck and shoulder met, he kissed gently there for a moment before biting roughly and suckling the pain away. Gabriella hissed and mewled and arched her hips into his, all while still rocking to the music.

Troy pulled away from her neck and kissed back up to her ear, "Do you want to leave?"

There was a moment where they both stood their frozen, contemplating the implications of Troy's suggestion. After what felt like days Gabriella nodded.

He led her away, this time having no help escaping from the crowd. They were standing next to the staircase when Gabriella deemed them alone enough to instigate another kiss. The lack of people around them seemed to have emboldened her and she let her hands rest under his shirt against his abs as their lips moved together. They pulled apart minutes later, chests heaving, gasping for air.

"Where do you want to go?" Gabriella questioned, still a little breathless, slipping her hands around Troy's back and then front again until her fingers danced at the waistband of his boxer briefs. Her fingers dipped down into the front of his jeans, teasing the hair there. Troy sucked in air through his teeth.

It was clear to Troy then what Gabriella wanted to do with him. His heart sped and his palms suddenly felt much wetter but he vowed himself to stay cool.

"Upstairs?" he suggested, but Gabriella made a face.

"Do you even know who lives here?"

Troy smiled half at her concern and half at the adorable face she made. "Of course. This is my cousin Adam's house. I was the one who suggested he throw the party in the first place."

Gabriella grinned up at him and kissed his chest, "Upstairs it is, then."

He led the way, as he always did, up the stairs, to the right and then opened the second door on the left.

"This is the guest room," he whispered.

Gabriella said nothing but closed and locked the door behind her. Troy was still facing the room when he heard clothes rustle and fall to the ground behind him. When he turned around he was met with a surprising sight. Gabriella had, in the moments that Troy was turned around, shed both her shorts and tank top, leaving her in only a navy blue lace bra and white and black striped cotton boy shorts. She walked towards him, leaving her clothes on the ground puddled around the door and smiled a coy smile.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi."

Troy lips found hers in a gentle, reassuring kiss. He kissed her as if to say 'don't be afraid.' The air around them had changed since they left the living room and stopped dancing. It wasn't crackling anymore, instead it was smoldering, on the brink of igniting into something much more serious than what had taken place on the living room floor. He broke the kiss only to quickly yank off his t-shirt. The tip of his nose ghosted across the bridge of her own as she tugged at his belt loops in the same way she had earlier that night, and yet there was such a difference. She tugged again and this time made a noise similar to a whine, but Troy was sure a whine could not turn him on nearly as much as this sound had. He pulled both shoes off using the opposite toes and unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. Gabriella pulled them down in one fluid motion without a flicker of hesitation. Troy's hands gripped her by her neck and let his lips collide with hers. His fingers ran through her curls making them separate and frizz, but she didn't care. Once both his hands had escaped the length of her hair they rested, hovering over her bra clasp.

Troy hesitated and kissed her. Not allowing his lips to open, he gave her a questioning look.

"Do it, Troy."

Troy's speed was a testament to his previous experience and something Gabriella wasn't yet sure if she was comfortable with. As quick as she herself would remove it, her bra came undone and slid down her shoulders to rest in the crook of her elbows. Troy kissed her lips again quickly and let his hands palm each breast at the same time. Gabriella's breath hitched and in response his right thumb and forefinger rolled her nipple until it pebbled. He kissed her again, crushing their chests together in order to feel her naked torso against his own. He picked her up at the waist as their kiss became deeper and she wrapped her legs around his hips tightly. She could feel his hardness press against her core and she moaned into his mouth as he involuntarily bucked his hips into her. He sat down on the bed so she was straddling him, she rolled her hips against his length and he let out a low groan.

"Don't, Ella."

She ran her hands through his hair to pull his head level with her, their eyes locked and Gabriella rolled her hips again. She watched his pupils dilate with arousal and he groaned. Again.

"Why not, Troy?" Gabriella asked with a teasing grin.

He moved quicker than she could react and flipped them. He pinned her below him with each hand next to her ears, effectively caging her in. He grounded his length into her center with a hiss. She leaned her head up to capture his lips with her own. His tongue plunged into her mouth without requesting entrance. Together, their tongues fought dominance as their hips mimicked the deed itself. Gradually, however, the kisses became softer, more intimate and probing.

Troy pulled away, looked down at Gabriella and let the first thing that entered his head spill out of his mouth.

"You are beautiful."

This time when Gabriella spoke the façade of confidence wavered, "Do you have a condom?"

Troy stilled. Was she serious? He looked down. Gabriella was still there, still looking anxious and still gently raking her nails up and down his forearms. She was serious, he decided. Troy nodded his head and kissed her chin before pushing off the bed and stepping a few feet away to retrieve his wallet from his jeans. Gabriella sat up on her elbows, her legs still dangling over the bed at her knees as she watched him fish through the random business cards and dance photos which caused her to giggle quietly, mostly to herself.

"Shit. Shit shit shit. You've got to be kidding me. That mother fucker."

Gabriella looked up at Troy who seemed like he was either going to be sick or run downstairs and punch whatever had got him in such a bad mood.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I gave it to Chad early tonight. I didn't know – I didn't think that you and I…I'm sorry."

Gabriella sat up fully now with her legs pulled tight against her chest and tried to laugh despite her disappointment, "It's okay Troy, I guess it wasn't meant to be."

She got up off the bed then to collect her clothing. Troy stood in the middle of the room still, turning to follow her underwear clad body. "Wait, El, where are you going?"

Gabriella was grasping her clothing in front of her chest, hiding what Troy was missing viewing already. S. shehe shrugged, "Home, I guess. Since you don't have…"

The passion from moments ago had faded and like that Gabriella struggled to even say the word condom.

Troy looked at her like she was crazy and pulled down the covers of the guest bed. "Oh, no you aren't." He laughed, "We've locked many a couple out of this perfectly good guest room and condom or no condom I plan – we plan – on using it. Plus I leave for Hawaii soon. I'll be gone for a whole week. Don't you want to spend time with me?" He made a sad face and pretended to sniffle.

Gabriella laughed and carried her clothes to the edge of the bed with her, dropping them on the floor before quickly sliding under the covers and pulling it above her chest. "I suppose that makes sense."

"You're damn right it does! We can just hang out and talk, watch some TV." He glanced at the clock sitting on the bedside table next to Gabriella that read 1:04 AM. "I'm not tired, anyway." He swung an arm around her shoulders and slid her towards him so their bare chests seemed as one.

"No, I'm not tired either." Gabriella smiled, "So how about those dance pictures in your wallet? I never pegged you for a sentimental enough guy to want to put his friends dance pictures somewhere other than the back of his school locker."

"Ahh, Ella, Ella, Ella." He snuggled closer to her and kissed her cheek, making her giggle, "If there's one thing I thought you had learned this month it was that you really didn't know me at all. I happen to save all the pictures I get of my friends."

They laid like that for the rest of the night and into early morning, talking about nothing really, but learning so much about each other. Gabriella learned that when Troy was nine he had wanted to be a dolphin trainer but Chad told him it was gay and Troy decided then to change his life long dream to become a professional basket ball player, but that changed, too, only Troy's dad didn't know it yet. Troy learned that Gabriella's favorite animal was a kangaroo because when she was seven her dad took her to the zoo on her birthday and she had got to pet one, all by herself. That was the last day she saw him, and she told Troy that, too. More importantly they learned how to interact freely with each other, with no hindrances holding them back. They decided that night, without words, that they would share all of each other, no excuses and no barriers. They fell asleep around seven forty-five in the morning, each talking to the other in one word sentences in order to attempt to keep the conversation alive while slowly drifting to sleep.

**AN: **Hey, sorry about the delay. I've been busy writing a new story of mine (well actually it's a two shot) called Let Go, and, if you haven't already, I suggest you totally check it out! I think it's probably what I'm most proud of out of all the things I've written. I hoped you liked this chapter and I really hope to have the next chapter out much sooner! Review, review, review!

And of course a huge thank you goes out to my lovely betas. :)


	5. Chapter 5

It was mid December when Troy and Gabriella saw each other again. Gabriella was sitting alone in a large, green, wing-backed armchair in the corner of her favorite café studying for her chemistry final when Troy walked in. She didn't notice him enter at first, the café was always a little crowded and she was used to the gusts of cold air that blew into the store when the front doors were opened and closed. But when one of the baristas called Troy's name and his signature grande almond latte with soy, Gabriella's head shot out of her chemistry book and fell on Troy himself.

His back was facing towards her and bits of snow that had yet to melt were resting still frozen on the shoulders of his wool jacket. Gabriella watched as the barista smiled at Troy and a blush began to form on the barista's cheeks as she answered whatever his question was. Gabriella scoffed. Troy turned in her direction, as if he had heard the sound and was curious to see where it came from. As quickly as she could, Gabriella ducked her head behind her open book, allowing only her eyes to peer at him from behind it. As Troy turned to his left and only his profile became visible, Gabriella's eyes fell to Troy's chest. Hidden in between the large buttons of his coat was a red and black knitted scarf. She lowered her book and leaned forward to get a better view, because she knew that scarf, she made that scarf – only not for Troy.

Over the sound of the many drink orders being called out, the white noise of the rest of the customers' voices mingling and mixing together, and the constant tinkle of the jingle bells tied to the front door, Troy heard his name being called, only not by a barista.

"Troy! Hey!"

He turned to find Gabriella standing before him in loose fitting jeans and a thick pink and brown striped sweater. Her hair was down and wild, as if she had ran her fingers through it too many times.

Troy smiled and took a short sip of his drink, "Oh, that's hot," he said offhandedly. "What's up, El?"

Gabriella paused and gave Troy a curious look before responding, "Not much, Troy. Studying for finals, mostly." She pointed to her recently vacated chair and table in the corner, "What are you doing here?" Her words had, in her head, sounded friendly, but the moment the words left her lips she heard the accidental venom in her voice and wished she could take them back. Luckily enough Troy didn't find her tone offensive. Instead he chuckled and chose to ignore her attitude all together.

"Just Christmas shopping. Got to get my mom another candle." He laughed again and spoke more to himself, "She loves those things."

They stood in the middle of the store, Troy still hadn't moved from the retrieval area for his latte and people had to walk around them both in order to collect their drinks. They were quiet for a moment, the Christmas music played through the speakers on the ceiling and the occasional ring of the jingle bells floated through the air as the front door opened and closed.

Gabriella blurted, unable to control herself, "That's my scarf."

Troy reddened a little bit, but maybe he was just hot, he was dressed for the weather outside and the café was pretty warm already. "Yeah, Chad told me you gave it to him a couple of Christmases ago." He pulled the scarf fully from underneath his coat, "You know, this thing is actually annoying as hell."

Gabriella looked insulted.

"No. That's not what I mean," Troy tried to recover; he always had a way of wording things wrong with Gabriella. "It's just that it gets caught on _everything._ Even things I would never expect…this morning I untangled it from the arm rest of my desk chair. But every time I untangle it – because its always on my stuff, never Chad's – I'm reminded of you." Troy took another sip of his drink, perhaps to try to avoid the uncomfortable weight in the air caused by his statement. "So I wear it…you know, so it won't get tangled on anything." There was another bout of silence during which Troy tucked the scarf back under his coat. "Well, I should go. The shops close soon."

Gabriella nodded and watched Troy's back as he wound his way through the customers and out the front door.

-------

Troy left the coffee shop feeling a little down, he shouldn't have said that thing about the scarf. He should have played dumb, _'Oh, this scarf? I had no idea'_. As he started to walk a little faster he heard his name being called for a second time. He looked behind him and saw Gabriella weaving her way in between people on the crowded streets after him with a thick chemistry book clutched in her arms and her trench coat open and billowing behind her in her haste to catch him.

"Wait!" So he did. "Do you mind if I come with you? I haven't really done any shopping because I was planning on going in Albuquerque, but I don't think I want to anymore so…"

Troy looked surprised but allowed her to come, "No, no, of course you can!"

She gave him a grateful smile and finally allowed herself time to tuck the book back into her messenger bag. "Where are you headed?"

-------

They visited a few department stores, mingling through the racks of clothing, and giggling like children. To their surprise, maybe it was the spirit of Christmas that did it, as they walked through the busy streets of downtown Boston there was no strain. Their conversation flowed easily from school, to holiday plans, even to cafeteria food. Gabriella helped Troy pick out a handbag for his youngest sister Natalie, and when Gabriella grabbed _The Dark Knight_ DVD for her brother Troy coughed and pointed to _Iron Man_ instead. They walked through what Troy had called the old lady section and they joked about what they would get Ms. Darbus for Christmas. Hours passed and stores began to lock their doors, the crowds on the streets thinned and they both knew it was time to go home.

Troy and Gabriella were standing awkwardly at the end of the block when Gabriella made her move to leave.

"Well, thanks for letting me tag along, Troy."

She started walking to her left on the sidewalk towards the bus stop.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, El. You can't think I would let you walk back to your campus alone at this time of night."

Gabriella looked the not yet empty streets, to her watch, and then back to Troy, "It's like 9:30, Troy."

Troy chose to ignore her comment and instead threw his arm over her shoulder to guide her back to the Harvard campus. By the time they made it back, the school grounds were completely deserted, and enough snow had fallen so that the grass was totally covered except for a spattering of lone footprints leading in different directions. Troy's arm was still casually strewn over her shoulder and Gabriella fought to keep calm. As they approached Gabriella's dorm building she wasn't sure what to do. Should she manually move his hand from her shoulder? Or would that seem too mean? Should she just walk away? Is she supposed to say thank you? To her surprise and utmost joy Troy removed his arm himself. Her joy, however, lasted only seconds, as he perched himself on the ledge next to the small staircase leading up to her dormitory doors.

"Your campus is awesome," Troy started, looking around the open yard in front of him.

Gabriella smiled a tight smile as the familiar feeling of numbness began to trickle through her lips, nose, and cheeks. "Thanks. Have you not been here before?"

Their eyes locked and together they momentarily contemplated her question. No, of course he hadn't been here before. The only reason he would visit her campus would be to see Gabriella, and of course that hadn't happened.

"No, I haven't."

Gabriella let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and then something caught her eye. There was a small square of light shining through Troy's jacket pocket. In a habitual way that began during the summer, Gabriella reached into his coat and flipped his cell phone open into her hand. She quickly read aloud the text from Chad and exited his inbox. Suddenly it felt as though someone had knocked the wind out of her. With the Grand Canyon in the background she and Troy's faces glowed merrily up at her in the semi-darkness of the night. Troy's wallpaper was still the same, after all these months of silence between them. He had kept the photo as his background.

As soon as Gabriella was able to breathe again she addressed him, her voice shaking with anger and confusion. "Troy, what the fuck is this?" She turned the phone background towards him.

The grin Troy had been sporting since they arrived in front of her dormitory faltered and he paled significantly. "Well, it's you and me at the Grand Canyon…I told you I never throw out pictures…"

Gabriella was still stunned, but somehow forced out words, "That's not even a picture, Troy. It's just…you could have deleted it. It's not like it was print."

Troy was sitting on the small stone ending on the stair's banister observing her when his gloved hands stretched out in her direction. Instinctively, Gabriella reached out and grasped Troy's right hand in her left. The leather of their gloves mixed with the melting snowflakes between their palms made their hands stick to each other, binding them together. At first they stood feet apart, connected only by their eyes and hands, which Gabriella had begun to gently swing back and forth. Troy pulled her towards him slowly, until she stood in between his legs, his knees level with her hips. The snow around them had begun to fall harder; their footprints that once lead up to Gabriella's dorm had been almost completely wiped away. Troy moved closer to Gabriella, close enough where the white mist from his breath hit Gabriella's face and dispelled around them.

"It doesn't matter if it was print or not. That picture means a lot to me, Gabriella."

It was amazing Gabriella realized, how much heat could be gained by just standing closer to someone. She lowered her eyes to their hands which were clasped, fingers laced, in Troy's lap. Gabriella lifted her eyes again to meet his and she suddenly felt as though she was too hot. His eyes were burning into her, flicking side to side, searching, questioning. What, Gabriella wasn't sure.

And suddenly, it all became clear. Troy leaned in towards her; at first Gabriella had thought it was just to shield himself from the increasing number of blasts of wind, but then he came closer, and closer, until his lips were millimeters from her own. When his lips touched hers they felt cold, dry and chapped. But it didn't matter; because the moment he parted his lips and his tongue traced her bottom lip everything was forgotten. Her pulse beat wildly in her ears and her heart felt full again, full of hope, of elation. So full she felt like she could float away.

Then, without a moment of warning the reality of their situation flooded back into Gabriella's brain; weighing her feet down and ripping away whatever feelings of hope she had away.

"No!" Gabriella immediately let go of Troy's hands and moved to his chest where she shoved him, hard. "No! You do not get to do this, Troy."

Troy's cheeks were pink, and it wasn't just from the cold. "Gabriella, I – I'm sorry. I – You're just so…"

"I'm just so _what_, Troy? So perfect? So beautiful? I've heard it all before." Gabriella turned and started to walk up the few stairs leading to building door.

Troy jumped down from the stone banister immediately. "Wait! Gabriella, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it…" Troy was four steps behind her when Gabriella whirled around to address him.

"Well then why did you do it, Troy!?" Gabriella was yelling, louder than Troy had ever heard. "I told you what I wanted from this at the lake last summer! I told you it was all or nothing and you chose nothing! You fucking chose nothing and then this whole year you've been doing all these things, and saying all these _things. _Troy I can't stand it. Half the time I want to punch you and the other half I want – it's just not fair Troy! When I'm sitting in my room wondering what that smile meant you're out with random girls you don't remember until they write their name on your arm at the fucking supermarket weeks later! So no, you don't get to kiss me! Not now, not tomorrow, not ever!"

Gabriella spun furiously back to the door and began digging through her messenger bag for her keycard.

"Gabriella I know! I know it's irresponsible and selfish as hell, but I can't help it!" Troy was running his hands through his hair, pushing the wet strands away from his forehead. "Something about you. I can't get you out of my head, Ella."

Quieter he stated like it was something to honor, to cherish, "You're with me everywhere I go."

He scrambled up the remaining four steps to get to Gabriella. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she immediately stilled, still facing the clear glass door. Troy took her lack of movement as a sign to continue and turned her gently to face him again. She wouldn't look him in the eyes, but Troy could see the unshed tears dusting the roots of her eyelashes. He pulled both her hands to his lips and kissed each gloved knuckle one after the other. His eyes searched her face, begging her to not run away, to stay and hear him out. For a second she relaxed in his touch, and then she blinked once, twice, and like a trance had been broken, she ripped her hands away from his roughly. When she finally looked Troy in the eyes it was clear her own were swimming with tears.

"Why then, if I'm so special, if you're so drawn to me," as her eyes welled she laughed, as if it was a joke. "Why couldn't you say yes?!" Her voice got quiet then, finally succumbing to her tears but she continued. "Did you not want to be with me anymore?" And then she uttered in an even quieter voice, barely even a whisper. "Did you not love me?" Gabriella's face hardened and she stood up straighter; she had answered her own question. "If you loved me you would have said yes."

Troy was pacing back and forth in front of her kicking bits of snow out of his way, "No…El, you don't understand!"

"You would have wanted more than casual hook ups over a summer, Troy!" Gabriella straightened, trying to appear taller. She was screaming now, her hands flying in gestures Troy didn't understand. "If you loved me like I loved you, Troy, you would have wanted to make it official! You wouldn't have wanted to keep it a secret anymore!"

"My parents separated!" Troy shouted over the crescendo of Gabriella's outburst. His voice silenced her.

Her hand stopped gesturing and fell to her sides, "Wh-what?" she asked, confused beyond belief.

Troy ran a hand through his hair again, "I know. Believe me, I know. It was completely random. Remember that week that I was gone? When my family went on that trip to Hawaii?"

Gabriella collapsed onto the top step in front of her dorm building and nodded her head.

"Well the entire trip my parents fought – it was insane, really. They had never once fought in the presence of my sisters or me and I still don't know what set them off, but when we got back, Dad moved out and hasn't been back since. At least not that I know of…"

Gabriella was stunned. "But that doesn't really have anything to do with us."

Troy ran his hands through his hair and sighed, for the first time that night he looked ready to give up. "Don't you get it?! No one stays together anymore, El! No one. Your parents: Divorced. My parents: Separated. Chad's parents, well Chad's never even _met_ his dad. Taylor's parents got divorced in 4th grade. Sharpay and Ryan's parents are still together but I bet the only reason they haven't gotten a divorce is because they never see each other since they're always on business trips."

Troy finally looked down at Gabriella who was still sitting with legs outstretched down the stone steps, "I didn't want that for me and you, Ella. I didn't want us to end up breaking up in the middle of school – or worse: I didn't want to see us married, and then one day however many years down the road just end, just die away like my parents." Troy crouched down and cupped Gabriella's cheeks so their faces were inches apart.

"Wouldn't you rather remember us the way we were in the summer? Carefree and falling in love?" Troy pleaded.

Gabriella was limp in his grasp, her tears freely falling from her eyes and collecting in the curve of Troy's thumb and index finger. Gabriella's body began to move on its own accord. Pulling the black leather gloves from each hand, she stood up and her arms moved upwards. Simultaneously, both her index and middle fingers touched Troy's cheeks, wiping away the wetness there. She dusted her warm fingers up the bridge of his ice-cold nose, over his forehead until they reached his hairline where she ran them through the strands of hair that had fallen in his eyes. Her hands cupped his head soon enough and forced his eyes to lock with hers. Gabriella sniffled softly and asked Troy a simple question: "Do you love me, Troy?"

As if answering on instinct, Troy responded, "Of course I love you, Gabriella."

Gabriella nodded once and still holding her palms against his cheeks she whispered. "Then be with me, Troy. Love me and be with me."

Gabriella stood on her tiptoes and kissed his forehead. She let her lips drag down to his temple, where she placed another kiss. Her lips then trailed to his cheek, his nose, his earlobe. With her lips pressed to the shell of his ear she whispered to him again that she loved him. Her hands were still running through his damp hair when her lips finally found his. The kiss was gentle, long, and final. She pulled away just as Troy attempted to deepen the kiss and slipped into the dormitory door before shutting it quickly without a second glance back. Troy watched her through the clear glass doors as she walked across the lobby and left up the stairwell and Gabriella disappeared from sight.

As soon as Gabriella heard the stairwell door slam behind her she took off. Running hard and fast up each step until her sobs and a stitch in her side made her fall to the landing between the fifth and sixth floors. Her sniffles echoed along the walls and up the stairs and Gabriella cried like it was the night Troy first told her no. After a few minutes Gabriella heard the clack of shoes coming down the stairs and attempted to appear normal. After a few deep breaths and the quick wipe of mascara that was surely running under her eyes Gabriella gathered her purse and gloves off the ground and resumed climbing up the stairs. Just as she turned to climb up the final set of stairs until her dorm room on the seventh floor she came face to face with a shocked Taylor.

"Oh!" Taylor exclaimed, "I was just at your room, Amelia said you hadn't been back yet."

Gabriella nodded, trying to look like she hadn't just been crying hysterically mere feet from where they stood now. Hoping the redness of her nose and eyes could be attributed to the storm outside.

"Yeah, I was out studying at the café on Newbury"

Taylor glanced at her watch and then up at Gabriella's tear stained face when Gabriella realized her crucial mistake. "But Gabriella," Taylor started, "It's 11:30. That café closes at 9:00. It couldn't have taken you two and half hours to get home."

Gabriella sighed and tears began to well in her eyes again. She knew it was time to tell Taylor the truth about summer and what happened with Troy.

"Come on, Taylor." Gabriella sighed and pulled Taylor down to sit next to her on the stairs.

She told Taylor about her summer and the time she spent with Troy. She told her about the fight they had at the lake and how she hadn't talked to Troy after that until that night at the movie theater. And finally, Gabriella told Taylor about running into him at the café that evening, their shopping trip, and most importantly, the argument they had in front of the building earlier in the night.

"So he didn't even tell you why?"

Gabriella cringed; she had omitted the fact about Troy's parents separating. Even if she was angry at Troy, she knew he told her that in confidence and intended on keeping his secret. "No, not really…"

"But…Gabriella?" Taylor questions hesitantly, "You don't even have any shopping bags…"

For what seemed like the thousandth time Gabriella felt a fresh batch of tears form in her eyes. She shook her head no and turned to look off towards the wall facing away from Taylor in order to hide her tears. Gabriella felt the warmth of a hand rubbing her back and then the heavy, yet comforting weight of a head resting on her shoulder blade. With only the echoes of Gabriella's sniffles and the calming shushing of Taylor's hushed voice to keep them company they stayed sitting on the staircase that night until they both lost track of time and Gabriella ran out of tears.

* * *

**AN:** Hey, sorry about the wait. I've been really busy getting ready to go back to school. Anyway, I hope this chapter was alright, review and let me know! :)

Thanks so much to both my lovely betas!


	6. Chapter 6

Once back in Albuquerque to say the weather was a shock to Gabriella's system would be a gross understatement. She left Boston in mid December bundled in a heavy-duty double-breasted pea coat and landed in Albuquerque where her mother greeted her wearing a pair of khaki capris and a white cotton three-quarter length shirt.

"How has Boston been, sweetie?" Gabriella's mom asked as they both climbed into the van.

Gabriella wiggled out of her jacket and gave her mom a smile, "Great. It's super cold there now, though. It's been snowing for the last couple days, too."

When Gabriella's mother spoke next they were already out of the airport's parking garage and merging onto the freeway. "I ran into Mrs. Bolton at the super market the other day. She said her son, Troy, I think, is in school up at Boston U. Have you run into him at all?" Elena asked in merely a conversational tone.

Gabriella's eyes remained downcast as she picked at invisible fuzz on her jacket that was now placed in her lap, "Yeah, he's friends with Taylor's boyfriend so I saw him a couple of times."

Elena nodded, this information seemed to be enough and she moved on to other matters, like the fact that their house was currently full to the brim of aunts, uncles and cousins, and Gabriella's uncle Ben was driving Elena crazy.

----

The next week flew by Gabriella in a whirlwind of cookie baking, hugging relatives and last minute Christmas decorating with her brother. There wasn't really time in the day to reflect on what happened with Troy in Boston. But when night fell and Gabriella was alone in her bed with only the faint sounds of Christmas carols tinkling through her closed bedroom door, and the soft white glow of the Christmas lights wrapped around her balcony and tangled in the oak tree it was all she could think of. Had she done the right thing? _Yes_. Was Troy a total asshole for kissing her after refusing to be her boyfriend? _Yes. _Did something, somewhere inside of her still wish that their kissing continued. _Yes. _

Gabriella kicked her comforters to the end of her bed in frustration, there was no use trying to sleep now. She rolled out of bed, flipped on her desk light and rifled through her drawers. There was a glint of metal as the light from her desk lamp hit something and Gabriella fell into the overstuffed armchair sitting a corner of her room. A moment later the quiet clinking of metal on metal drowned out whatever happy melody that was floating through the air.

----

Two days after Gabriella's arrival in Albuquerque Troy was greeted in the airport baggage claim by his mother and two very excited younger sisters. After the compulsory but nonetheless appreciated hugs and kisses they made their way back to their house. Natalie and Jenna, whether deliberate or accidental Troy couldn't say, attempted to distract him with questions about Boston and school, but no matter what they asked Troy only had one thing on his mind: Would his dad be at home waiting for them?

Troy's mom slowed the car to a stop in their driveway, and as Troy got out of the midsized SUV an obvious sign of something wrong stared back down at him. Along the trim of their house there were no Christmas lights and the metal-framed deer that normally stood in their front lawn were nowhere to be seen. Only the classic Bolton Christmas tree in front of the bay window; sparkling with white lights, red and green ball ornaments showed any inkling that they even celebrated the holiday.

Immediately Troy turned to his mother who was anxiously watching Troy scan their house and had yet to leave her side of the car.

"Mom, why aren't there any lights on the house? How come the deer aren't out yet?"

Lucille gave him an obviously forced and awkward smile, "Well, Troy, I kind of thought you could put them up this year. You know I'm afraid of heights and the girls are just too young…"

As soon as Troy's eyes landed on their house, with its missing lights and absent deer Troy knew his dad wasn't back, but something within him made him ask anyway.

"But, Mom, Dad normally –"

Lucille pursed her lips and out of the corner of his eye Troy saw Natalie shake her head minutely.

Hastily Troy added, "Well I guess I'll just do them tomorrow, at least in Albuquerque I don't have to worry about snow on the roof or anything." He shrugged and gave his mom a fleeting smile.

Like a collective breath had been held and then released the tension in the air dissipated and Troy turned to his sisters with a smile and a wink, "Well, I should probably grab my bag and get inside…I've got to wrap some very important presents, I think." He looked over and yelled to his mom who was already at the front door, "Can you get out the wrapping paper stuff for me?"

----

After Troy wrapped his mother and sister's gifts and placed them under the tree in the living room he reluctantly explored the connecting rooms and hallways of the main floor. It was strange to say the least. There were a few things that hadn't changed; The family photos were still hanging in the hallways and den, in the closet a few of his dad's old jackets remained, looking as though they could have just been hung. But there were things that were different, like the fact that the television in the family room was no longer constantly on sports channels, or on at all, really. And that their garage held just two cars, instead of the normal three. To an outsider, these miniscule details could seem petty, unimportant, but to Troy they made the house seem empty and foreign.

After a final review of the closet near the stairs Troy climbed his way up to his bedroom and pulled out his laptop. He sat down at his desk and looked out his bedroom window, past the bare trim of his roof and out towards the road. Just as Troy pulled e-bay up on his browser he heard a soft knock on and the muffled shuffle of socks on the carpeted floor. Quickly as he could Troy slammed his laptop shut and swiveled his chair around to see Natalie entering his room.

"Hey," she said as she leaned against the door until it shut.

Troy gave her a dry smile and watched as she sat crisscross on his comforters and pulled a pillow into her lap, hugging it tightly. Natalie, being only four years younger than Troy had always been close with him and looking at her now, curled on top of his comforters sitting with him merely for company made Troy suddenly feel incredibly guilty. He moved to Boston for college, leaving her to deal with their parents and, he was sure, the comforting of Jenna, who was only nine.

"He hasn't come home at all?" Troy asked.

Natalie shook her head, "No, but we don't really talk about him, Mom doesn't like it much."

Troy opened his mouth to ask another question, but Natalie got there first, determined to prevent more awkward moments involving their missing dad.

"What're you hiding in that laptop of yours?" Natalie asked, crawling closer and reaching out to try to open it.

Troy placed his hand on top, effectively preventing her from seeing.

"Nothing."

----

"Taylor, it's not a big deal!" Gabriella yell-whispered into the phone. It was late Christmas Evening and Gabriella had just been telling Taylor that she hadn't spoken to Troy since coming back to Albuquerque.

"Yes it is! You guys need to resolve whatever it is between the two of you if you ever want to move on."

"There's nothing to resolve, it's really not – "

Taylor said along with her, "'that big of a deal', I know. Only it is a big deal, Gabriella."

Just as she was about to respond Gabriella's ears perked at the creaking of steps along the wooden staircase adjacent to her bedroom door. She stood there, silent until the feet passed and she heard a door click in the distance.

"Hey, I've got to go, Tay," Gabriella whispered. "I'm afraid I'll wake up everyone, but I'll call you soon. Merry Christmas!"

"Gabriella, don't even – I know for a fact you and I have talked louder and later than this and no one woke up." There was a pause and a sigh from Taylor's end of the phone, "Merry Christmas Gabi, I'll talk to you soon."

Gabriella folded her free arm across her chest and gazed out her balcony doors, "Bye, Taylor."

----

"Dude, I raked in a massive haul this year. I think my mom _really_ missed me. You get anything good?" Chad asked Troy, though his voice was clearly muffled from eating his traditional chocolate orange.

"Yeah, I got some good stuff," Troy answered absentmindedly as he drew squiggles on the fogged window in front of him. He could hear _Eloise at Christmastime_ playing in the other room where his sisters and mother sat cuddled on the couch. After a moment of quiet contemplation Troy realized Chad was still talking on the other end of the line.

" – yeah and you've got to come play it with me. I can't believe my mom even found a copy! Well, I've got to go to Taylor's. Tell Coach I say what up. Er – I mean, tell him I said Merry Christmas. Your mom, too. Bye."

"Bye, Chad."

Troy flipped his shut his phone in a clipped, irritated manner. Why was it fair for Chad to be so happy when Troy was so…not? Why did Chad have a content girlfriend waiting for him and whatever Christmas present he had yet to give her? Troy felt his stomach synch tightly at the thought of wishing his dDad a Merry Christmas. But Chad didn't know about Troy's dad. Because Troy didn't tell him. And Chad didn't know about Gabriella. Because Troy didn't tell him. Troy gave a final sigh before turning off the light and leaving the merry glow of the Christmas tree behind him. Troy spent the rest of Christmas night taking hot chocolate orders and watching _Eloise at Christmastime_ and with his family.

----

Gabriella was sitting alone at her vanity halfheartedly whistling random Christmas carols and painting her nails jade green when she saw Troy casually walking down the sidewalk near her house, take a left and walk up her driveway. As quickly as she could manage she capped the polish, blew hastily on her half painted fingers and wiggled the doorknob awkwardly with her palms until it opened. By the time she made it out of her room and to the landing on the stairs her mother had already opened the door where Troy was standing looking anxious and unsure.

"Hi there," Elena Montez began cautiously. "May I help you?"

For a split second Gabriella didn't understand why her mother was acting so distant to Troy, but almost immediately after it became clear. Following their first kiss in Troy's backyard their number one priority became avoiding basically anyone from Albuquerque. Her mother had no idea who was standing in front of her, and she definitely didn't know what he meant to Gabriella.

Troy looked a little uncomfortable, his hands were held behind his back, presumably to prevent his nervous habit of ruffling his own hair or rubbing his neck.

"Hi, Mrs. Montez I'm Troy Bolton…I was wondering if Gabriella was here? And if I could talk to her?"

Even though Elena's back was facing Gabriella she could tell from the surprised but pleased look on Troy's face her mother was beaming at him. Her suspicions were confirmed when her mother moved aside to invite Troy in as she addressed him.

Gabriella's voice rang out over her mother's attempt at another question. With her arms folded tight against her chest and a decidedly angry look in her eyes she addressed him. "What are you doing here, Troy?"

Elena clicked her tongue, "Gabi! Don't be so rude, clearly Troy walked here to visit you. Come on in, Troy."

Gabriella hadn't moved from where she stood on the stairs as her mother ushered Troy inside their house and took his jacket from him to hang the closet.

"Would you like some cookies?" Elena offered, "We have so many batches left over, and I'm sure Gabriella and I can't eat them all."

Before Troy could respond Gabriella answered for him, "No, he wouldn't, mom."

Troy nodded his head in agreement, "Sorry, Mrs. Montez, but I was just hoping to talk to Gabriella. Maybe some other time." He added a smile for good measure.

Elena nodded her head and gestured Troy up the stairs, "I'll hold you to that."

As Troy reached the landing where Gabriella had stood previously she already began her ascent up the remaining few stairs and was standing in front of her shut bedroom door by the time he reached the second level of her house. Troy made his way down the hallway until he stood across from her leaning against the opposite wall.

"What are you doing here, Troy?" Gabriella was scowling, but underneath her obvious frown Troy could see a flicker of curiosity.

With Gabriella tucked so tightly against her door and Troy standing so close, there was only so much breathing room. In another lifetime, in another world Gabriella would have wanted him to kiss her, but not here, not now. Now, what did she want? Did she want him to go away and leave her alone? _No, not really. _Did she want to know what he was holding behind his back? _Yeah, kind of._ Did she want to ask him about how his Christmas was and if he saw his dad at all? _Absolutely._

"I already told your mom. I'm here to see you, so, please, will you let me in?"

Gabriella sized him up; she took one glance at his almost frantic-like disposition, both his hands still clasped behind his back, clutching something, and turned her doorknob to allow him entry. Gabriella stood back, leaning on the side of the doorframe as Troy crossed the threshold into her room for the first time. She watched as he stood awkwardly in the middle of her carpet, surveying her room that suddenly seemed too girly, too messy, and too childish.

She entered after him and took a seat on the edge of her bed, Troy followed her lead and sat next to her. The bed frame sunk considerably from their combined weight, and Gabriella tried her best to shift away from him undetected.

"I have something for you, El." Troy said as he reached to his hip and Gabriella thought she heard the distinct sound of rustling wrapping paper. As quick as he could Troy shoved a flat, medium sized rectangular box toward her. "I was meaning to give it to you on Christmas day, but I barely found it with enough time for it to ship to Albuquerque before we go back to school so it just got here today."

Gabriella looked down at the blue wrapping paper decorated with silver and gold snowflakes. She ran her fingers over the diecut tag with her name written on it in Troy's sloppy all-caps penmanship. She stood abruptly and thrust the gift back into Troy's hands.

"Wha-"

"Just hold on a second!" She said, and ran off to the opposite corner of her room where she began opening and shutting drawers rapidly. After a few panicky minutes Gabriella returned to the end of her bed with something red bundled tightly behind her back.

Troy's mouth dropped, "Is…is that for me?"

Gabriella nodded, and pulled a black and burgundy knit scarf from behind her back. Her cheeks reddened as she spoke, "Taylor was complaining about how Chad never dressed weather appropriate and that she thought he would be getting pneumonia before January is up, so I thought I'd make you your own. That way Chad would have no excuse to not wear his.

Troy ran the scarf through his semi-closed fists, "Gabriella..."

"I know it's not that much and it might be kind of girly but – "

"No!" Troy said, finally lifting his head to meet her eyes. He looked shocked, yes, but there was something else. He was greatful.

"No, El, it's perfect. Thank you."

Gabriella shrugged and folded her arms across her chest, unsure of whether or not she should sit back down again.

"Are you going to open my gift, now?" Troy asked, the first smile she had seen that night tugging his lips.

She sat back down next to him and once again traced the snowflakes printed on the wrapping paper. "You really didn't have to…"

Troy shifted on the bed uncomfortably, "I did. Just open it, Gabriella."

Careful to not rip it Gabriella slid the wrapping off to reveal an old used copy of Starcraft. Before she could question Troy spoke.

"I know you said you used to play it with your brother, not because you liked it, but just to just spend time with him. I just thought that maybe you could play it with me. To And spend time with me."

Gabriella's jaw dropped, the memory of waiting with Troy for the rest of their group all those months ago seemed so far away. And yet, he remembered. He remembered enough to buy it for her.

"Troy, I don't know what to say."

"I'm sorry, Ella."

Gabriella's head shot up from inspecting her gift, "What? Sorry?"

"I'm sorry. I was a dick. I shouldn't have…I'm not asking you to suddenly date me, or be my girlfriend or anything, but, well, I miss you El. I miss you more than I should if what we had is over for good. All I'm asking is that you give me a second chance. Maybe this time we can do it right."

For a straight minute Gabriella was silent. Her eyes moved from the unwrapped Starcraft CD resting on her lap, to Troy, and back to Starcraft. Without warning Gabriella dropped the CD from her hands to the carpet where it fell with a dull thump. With a speed that Troy had not known Gabriella possessed she flung herself against his chest, wrapping him in a tight hug. As soon as her arms locked around his neck he responded on instinct by gently enclosing his own around her waist. Troy sighed inwardly; the weight Gabriella's face pressed against his shoulder and the warmth of her breath seeping down through the woven material of his sweater was incredibly calming. After a few minutes, however, Gabriella pulled away.

"Hi, Troy." She said coyly, a trace of a grin shadowing her features. It was like she was speaking to him for the first time since leaving for college.

"Hello, Ella." Troy answered.

Silence fell. Despite their agreement and desire to try again there was an awkwardness that still seemed to be lingering. But they were trying to rebuild, so they fought through it.

"So how was your Christmas?" Troy asked.

"It was good. But I think my uncle is driving my mom a little crazy." They both laughed and right on time there was a loud bang and the sound of silverware clattering from what they assumed was the kitchen.

"Should we–"

Gabriella laughed, "No, don't worry about it. I definitely suggest avoiding it."

Gabriella glanced at Troy, whose face still showed the remnants of their laughter, and decided now would be as good a time as ever to ask the question that had been plaguing her since he stepped foot in her house.

"How about you? Was your Christmas any good?" She asked tentatively.

Troy shrugged, his eyes focusing mostly on wall in front of them where the red feathered mask Gabriella's mom had brought back for her from Venice was hanging. "It was…different, I guess. Hey, El, where'd you get that mask?" He attempted to change the subject.

"Troy, don't change the subject." Gabriella paused and took a deep breath, she was looking straight at Troy's profile, taking in his perfectly sloped nose, bowed lips, and alarmingly furrowed brow.

"So he didn't come back?" She asked softly.

Troy sighed and fell back against her white down comforter. The strength of his fall forced the air out of her duvet and made his hair brush across his forehead.

"No, he didn't." Troy sighed again and ran his hand through his hair, keeping his eyes determinedly locked on Gabriella's ceiling.

Gabriella scooted a little closer and fell against her comforter next to him. She laid down on her side, her hand buried in her hair to hold up her head.

"Who else knows?" She whispered.

Troy's cobalt gaze locked with Gabriella's, "No one. Just you." He looked back towards the ceiling.

"Chad doesn't even know?" She shifted to lie on her stomach, Troy's knuckles grazing her hip as her t-shirt rose up her torso with each wiggle.

"Nah," Troy said offhandedly, "What good would it have done? He wouldn't be able to change anything, right?"

Gabriella shifted again to scoot up the bed so she and Troy's faces were closer together, "Well, no, he couldn't, but I imagine it would feel good to get something like that off your chest, you know? Didn't it feel good when you told me?"

Troy's head turned so he was faced towards Gabriella's door, still avoiding eye contact. "I don't know. Yeah, I guess, but mostly because I was glad you knew why. Even though my reasoning was stupid, I felt like it would make you understand more. But part of me thought that maybe if I didn't say anything…and I came back home…back to Albuquerque…everything would have fixed itself while we were away."

Gabriella's hand moved from under her chin to rest on Troy's arm. She squeezed his bicep in support, "But it didn't."

Troy sighed and lifted his head to look back at Gabriella, his temples had lines of wetness down them and his eyes were a little red, "It didn't."

His head dropped down to the comforter again, and they laid together in silence, Gabriella's hand gripping his upper arm, tracing unintelligible designs with her finger tips until a quick tap on Gabriella's bedroom door sounded and Mrs. Montez immerged from the hallway. Troy shot up from the bed, trying to look as though nothing suspicious was happening. In reality, nothing tangible was happening between them, but Troy knew that whatever position they were just found in spoke in a different light.

"Gabriella, honey, we're having dinner downstairs." Mrs. Montez looked over at Troy who was now sitting up, attempting to partially hide behind one of the corner posts on Gabriella's bed. Elena smiled, "Troy, you're welcome to stay if you'd like to." And with that she left, though Gabriella's bedroom door remained open.

Troy looked down at Gabriella, his eyebrows raised in question.

Gabriella was still lying on her stomach but now her fist was shoved in her mouth, in order to muffle her giggles. Once her laughter tapered off she spoke. "You don't have to be so nervous, she won't hate you, you know." Gabriella laughed again when Troy gave her a look that plainly said he didn't agree.

Gabriella played with the ends of her curls and nudged Troy's knee with her toes, "do you want to stay for dinner? You don't have to or anything, but if you want to you're totally welcome…"

She avoided his eyes as she asked the question, incase he said no, but as soon as she finished he answered quick and enthusiastically. "Sure!"

Together they walked downstairs, through the den and into the dining room. In eight of the eleven seats along the large wooden table sat a nameless relatives of Gabriella's. There was chatter among the family as Gabriella and Troy sat down near the head of the table next to her mother. Sitting directly across from Gabriella was her brother, Josh, who seemed to be looking at Troy with the obvious displeasure. Apart from Josh, Gabriella's family was friendly, though it was easy to be with Troy. He was polite and charming, but opinionated enough to not become boring. Around halfway through their meal Gabriella decided it was time to soften whatever dislikes her brother had for Troy.

"You know, Josh," Gabriella started as she cut her turkey, "it was Troy who suggested Iron Man. I wanted to get you The Dark Knight."

Josh looked from Gabriella to Troy and back to Gabriella. She nudged her head a little to the left and Josh addressed Troy for the first time directly.

"Good call, man."

Troy swallowed his bite and nodded his head, "Thanks."

Those four words were all that was spoken between Josh and Troy at dinner, but Gabriella would take what she could get. The rest of the night was filled with the warm light of the chandelier above them and the clinking of plates and bowls being passed around the dinner table.

* * *

**AN:** Hi. I'm such a dick, I'm so so so sorry I haven't updated this in like, a billion years (okay, really only like three weeks, but still!) I started school like two weeks ago and I've been kind of swamped with the workload and stuff. But don't worry, the chapters are planned, everything is in order, it just might take a bit longer to get posted. To be honest I don't see my workload lightening any time soon so I guess just know that I haven't abandoned this story! Annnyway, I hope you liked it, this chapter actually gave me a lot of trouble. :) Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

There was a certain smell that Troy always associated with Christmas. It was more original than the fresh pine of the Christmas trees, or the warm sugary scent of cookies in the oven. Troy's Christmas smell was a mix of a lot of things. It was the cold mountain air of Colorado, the unique, spicy scent of the plastic holly his mom kept in a plastic box until the holiday season, and the bonbons his dad made from scratch every Christmas Eve. This year, Troy's Christmas smell had changed. Some things were added, others were subtracted, but Troy discovered that everything seemed perpetually wrapped around Gabriella.

They had created an unconscious routine over the past week where Troy would come over around noon and they would sit together on the couch, watching movie after movie. They would pop popcorn, though most of it was wasted in futile attempts at making kernels land in one another's mouth. Starcraft still lay unopened on her dresser. In fact, Gabriella had only bothered to touch it once when she moved it from the floor. The game hadn't been discussed because Troy and Gabriella didn't care; there was an understanding that the time spent together mattered most, so that's what they concentrated on. For Troy, Gabriella's crowded and noisy house was a welcomed break from the lonely silence of his own. The only issue Troy encountered while he was with Gabriella was constant presence of her brother, Josh, who took it upon himself to act as sentinel over them. Within moments of Troy and Gabriella taking their seats on the couch Josh would trudge in the room and make camp at one of the barstools at the kitchen counter, allowing him a perfect view of any and every move Troy made.

Troy looked across the couch to Gabriella as the credits of _The Bourne Ultimatum _scrolled up the screen. Her legs were resting comfortably in his lap, her head leaning against the soft leather of the cushions. At times, hearing Gabriella giggle or feeling the weight of her legs in his lap made Troy want to laugh. After months of silence and hostility between them her willingness to be so close to him was a little surreal.

Gabriella squeezed Troy's legs beneath her knees, pulling him out of his thoughts, "Sometimes, I wish I could be like Jason."

Troy laughed, "You mean a crazy skilled CIA agent?"

Gabriella nodded, a wistful smile playing on her face. "Yup, just like him."

"Not like Julia Styles?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and threw a bit of torn up napkin that Troy easily batted away. "No way! She got her ass handed to her by that guy in Africa."

Troy laughed again, "True, El. Very true."

They heard a scoff sound from the kitchen – it was Josh. He looked up from his pseudo college work, "You can't just let Gabi win like that. You've got to make her work for it. We all know that even though Julia Styles doesn't win that fight with the assassin Jason wouldn't have made it without her. She had all the information. Without her he couldn't have figured out his identity."

Gabriella gripped the back of the couch and twisted to face Josh head on, "Hey, hey Joshua. Shut up."

The quick turn of her neck swung her hair over her shoulders and the light scent of coconut wafted towards Troy. He smiled.

Without waiting for her brother's retort Gabriella turned back towards the television and spoke to Troy in hushed tones, "Don't listen to him, okay?"

Troy gave her an indulgent smile and nodded his head.

Long after the sun had set and most of Gabriella's family members had disappeared somewhere upstairs, Troy and Gabriella stood on the porch to say goodbye. Her porch light cast a familiar glow over them, but unlike in the summer, there were no bugs swarming around it. Instead it was as if there were no signs of life outside other than Troy's rhythmic breathing and Gabriella's warm hands clasped against the small of his back.

"I think we had a break through tonight," Gabriella said, her voice carrying clearly through the cold winter air.

"Yeah?" Troy said, rocking Gabriella with him gently from foot to foot. "How so?"

"Josh," Gabriella signed contently, her cheek snuggling closer against the cotton of Troy's sweatshirt. "He talked to you! He never talks to the boys I bring home."

Troy pulled away slightly, his hands gripping her shoulders. His face looked stern but his eyes were dancing with mirth and betrayed him. "You bring boys home, El?"

Gabriella smacked Troy in the stomach lightly, "No, not exactly," she said. Her hands slid from his stomach back to their place against the small of his back and clenched the gathered material of his sweatshirt in her fists. "But I've known forever that he wouldn't like them."

Troy shrugged and pulled Gabriella back to his chest. "I understand that. The day Natalie or Jenna bring home a boyfriend I know I won't like the guy. Especially since my dad…"

Gabriella could feel him stiffen in her arms. He had almost talked about his dad without hesitation, without sadness. She glanced up and as their eyes locked she saw it all. The guilt, the sorrow, the denial. The sound of Troy's sneakers scraping the rough concrete of Gabriella's front step echoed around them and he pulled away again. Their eyes connected briefly, and all that needed to be said was understood.

"I should go." Troy said as he released her from his embrace.

Gabriella nodded and didn't fight him. She knew from experience that things like this took time, support, and a lot of self-reflection. She had given him the first two, and there was nothing else she could do for him. With a brief smile and a final squeeze of her hand Troy jogged down the steps, hopped into his car, and drove away.

----

When Gabriella stepped inside Taylor's house she had expected to be greeted only with the traditional bottle of champagne and a VHS copy of My Fair Lady, however, when Gabriella and Taylor stood at the entrance of the living room Gabriella saw a completely different scene. There was no champagne, no My Fair Lady, instead, stacks of popular party games were lined next to the coffee table. Chad, Zeke, Ryan, Troy, Sharpay, and Kelsi all sat around the living room backs facing the door.

Gabriella looked to Taylor in shock, as if she was imagining things.

"I know New Years Eve is our thing, but Chad told me during Christmas that he was tired of not spending it with me, and he didn't want to be that college kid showing up to the East High parties," Taylor smirked and hushed her voice as she stepped a little closer to Gabriella, "And I'm sure you don't mind seeing Troy, do you?"

Gabriella gave Taylor an appraising look before making a beeline to Troy, and sitting next to him. Taylor watched from the doorway as they fell into easy conversation, Gabriella throwing her legs into Troy's lap, and Troy accepting them readily. Taylor watched as the group of five who previously had all eyes glued to the television started to watch Troy and Gabriella's movements carefully.

Taylor entered the room and clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "Since Gabriella's here now, why don't we play a game?"

The group around the television grumbled and made no move to look through the boxes that Taylor had so carefully stacked, that is, everyone except Sharpay. The word 'game' had barely left Taylor's mouth when Sharpay shot out of Zeke's arms, off the couch and began rifling through each box until settling on Taboo.

Sharpay crouched strategically in front of the television and grinned almost manically, "Okay. We're playing Taboo in doubles. Partner up!"

Taylor clasped her hands again and followed Sharpay to the carpeted ground, sitting across from Chad. Troy and Gabriella watched anxiously as partners were chosen until they were the only two left. Gabriella lifted her legs off of Troy's lap and sat down on the carpet in between Ryan and Sharpay.

Zeke fiddled with the large cardboard rule card, "So who goes first?"

Sharpay leaned forward on her knees and ripped the cardholder out of Chad's hands, "Youngest player! Youngest player!"

Ryan rolled his eyes, "Shar, Kelsi is like four months younger than you."

Sharpay scowled and leaned her hands back against the carpet, "How are you even in our grade?" She spat.

Ryan caught the cards as Sharpay threw them unceremoniously in his general direction, "Because she's smart." He said simply, and shot a grin Kelsi's way.

The game started slow, both Kelsi and Ryan and Taylor and Chad scoring a respectable five points. Sharpay and Zeke went next, and after a minute and a half of ear splitting screams from Sharpay and fervent nods from Zeke they pulled ahead to first with a score of seven.

Zeke whooped once and handed the cardholder to Troy. It was their turn. With a quick wink of his eye and a swoop of his hair Gabriella understood they were going to win.

Sharpay's hands were sprawled anxiously across the coffee table as Zeke started the timer. Troy flipped the first card - this was it.

"Skeleton."

"Key!"

"Mister."

"Mime!"

"Blair from gossip girl."

"PLAID!"

The group watched on in amazement as Troy and Gabriella continued to connect seemingly random words together in understanding. By the time the timer dropped its last grain of sand, Troy and Gabriella had won the first round by three points. The game progressed, each round ending in a similar fashion, with Sharpay and Zeke working hardest, yet Troy and Gabriella winning. When they were about to start their fifth round Taylor's cell phone beeped signaling one minute to New Years. Sharpay squealed and fell into Zeke's lap, Ryan smiled softly at Kelsi, and Taylor let her head fall onto Chad's shoulder.

Gabriella caught Troy's eye, shifting from the floor towards him awkwardly. She sat down on the armrest of the couch and surreptitiously slid her hand into his, hidden in between the cushions. The eight of them, somehow all managing to fit on the couch, watched the two-hour late telecast of the ball dropping in New York. Together, as the ten-second mark approached, they counted down to the New Year. As the ball finally touched down and the confetti exploded into the sky, Troy watched the three other couples share quick kisses and murmurs of happy New Year. He squeezed Gabriella's hand in his and gave her a subtle, closed mouth kiss on her upper arm. For now, it would have to do.

----

It was after 1:30 in the morning when Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke, and Kelsi finally left Taylor's house. Once the remaining four were back in the living room, Taylor and Gabriella began to carry used plates and cups into the kitchen to wash. Troy and Chad were left alone in the living room assigned to clear the games off the floor.

Ignoring Taylor's request to clean Chad fell back against the couch and addressed Troy. "You and Gabriella were on fire tonight, huh?"

Troy continued to clean the living room, avoiding Chad's eyes. "Yeah, I guess."

"What's up with you guys, anyway?" Chad asked, his eyes watching Troy dodder around the room, not really cleaning anything.

Troy was crouched down rearranging the boxes of party games against the wall when he answered. "Nothing. I guess we're just really good at that game."

Chad folded his arms across his chest in disagreement, though Troy couldn't see. "Don't lie, dude, you're not fooling anyone. We all saw the way you perked up when she came over and I saw that little kiss you gave her at midnight."

"It was just on her arm," Troy said, indignantly, turning around to face Chad.

Chad blinked once and waited. Troy stood and with a sigh addressed him.

"It was on her arm…but yeah, I didn't want it to be. We aren't dating or anything, but, Chad, I really like her."

Chad's brow furrowed and he leaned forward on the couch, "But Troy do you even know her?"

Troy rolled his eyes and shut off the television, he had been expecting this question. "I do. I know her better than almost anyone."

"How is that even possible? You never hang out."

Troy shook his head, shoving his hands in his back pockets, "We hung out all the time Chad. Since last summer."

"But what about Boston? I never saw you with her."

"Things got a little complicated then," as Troy spoke the grin on his face widened. "But they're better now. So much better."

Chad wasn't blind. He saw the happiness that seemingly oozed from Troy when he talked about Gabriella. And if it was Gabriella Montez that made his best friend happy then Chad was cool with it. "You sure about this, dude?" Chad asked.

Troy smiled and added the final game box to the stack against the wall. "Absolutely."

Troy heard the water shut off in the kitchen and second later Taylor and Gabriella made their way back into the living room. Chad watched the exchange of tender smiles passed between Troy and Gabriella in astonishment. Now that he was aware it was so obvious!

Gabriella jingled her keys in her hand, "I think I should get going. Do you need a ride, Troy?"

"I would love one, El." Troy answered with a grin.

Gabriella mirrored Troy's grin before thanking Taylor with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and waved goodbye to Chad. As soon as Gabriella's foot touched the pavement of Taylor's driveway she tossed her keys to Troy and climbed into the passenger seat of her car.

----

The drive to Troy's house was calm and silent. The roads were all but deserted as they passed through neighborhood after neighborhood. Gabriella rested her feet against the dashboard and watched the shadows from the streetlights pass over Troy while he drove. The soft puttering of her engine ceased as Troy turned the keys and pulled them out of the ignition. He unbuckled both their seatbelts and got out of the car. Without uttering a single word, Gabriella knew Troy expected her to follow him outside. They met in the middle of his driveway; the glow of Gabriella's car lights that had yet to go off served as their light source and gave their shadows against the garage door a long, lanky appearance.

Troy held his hand out for Gabriella to grasp; just as their fingers touched his phone began to beep. With his free hand Troy reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He held it out to Gabriella, "Look at the time. It's midnight, El."

Gabriella smiled and shut his phone, "No it's not Troy. It's like two in the morning."

Troy pocketed his phone and shook his head, "No, it's midnight Gabriella. It's midnight, and it's New Years Eve, and someone needs to kiss me."

A rosy blush appeared on Gabriella's cheeks and her eyes flicked to her feet then back to his eyes, "Who's going to kiss you?"

Troy shrugged and smiled, letting his hands rest on her shoulders, "I don't know, whoever's here." He took a step towards her.

"But no one's here." She took a step towards him.

Troy's hands dropped from her shoulders down to her waist and he pulled her flush against him. "You're here," he whispered before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers.

It was a strange feeling for Gabriella, finally kissing Troy for the first time with no extra baggage. There was no wondering about what each kiss could mean or whether or not this would be the last time. Instead it was all Troy, just Troy. Troy's lips moving against hers, Troy's tongue tracing along the edge of her lips requesting entrance, and Troy's teeth nipping at the dip in her neck.

Minutes passed until the loss of light from Gabriella's car allowed darkness to surround them and caused Troy to pull away.

"Happy New Year, El," Troy whispered.

Gabriella smiled and placed a final kiss on the underside of Troy's jaw, "I should go."

As Gabriella started to pull away Troy held tightly to her forearm just above her wrist. "Stay." His eyes were begging and his thumb was tracing little patterns on the inside of her wrist unconsciously.

For a moment Gabriella contemplated moving to pull her arm out from his grasp, but at the last second decided to remain in his grip. His palm against her bare skin was warm and his thumb rubbing against the inside of her wrist felt too good. Gabriella pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth – it still tasted of Troy.

"My mom expects me home…"

Troy shrugged and inched his way closer until Gabriella could see the small patch of freckles splashed across Troy's nose and cheeks in the darkness.

"Text her that you're staying the night at Taylor's."

"But your mom-" Gabriella started.

"-Won't mind. She likes you. I'll even sleep on top of the covers if you want me to." Troy finished. His hands found hers easily and laced their fingers. He held his lips tightly to the crown of Gabriella's forehead, enjoying the way he felt her shiver beneath him and the fresh coconut aroma of her hair. With his lips still grazing against her forehead Troy spoke again.

"Please, El? It can be my New Years Eve gift."

Gabriella lifted her head quickly to meet his eyes. As she moved Troy's lips slid from her forehead to the tip of her nose.

"Who gets presents on New Years?" Gabriella asked, a smile forming on her lips.

Troy chuckled. "Well, if you stay I'll get one. Please, Ella? Stay."

Gabriella sighed and clicked her car lock once. "Fine, you win. But you're sleeping on top of the covers."

With their fingers still laced, Troy lead Gabriella up the concrete steps to his front door. It felt strange, like some sort of déjà vu guiding Gabriella up the same steps they walked together six months before. The house was silent and warm as they entered and quickly made their way up the staircase. Troy's bedroom was a little messy, but that was to be expected. The blinds were closed, presumably because Troy hadn't bothered to open them that morning. An empty Gatorade bottle and a pair of basketball shorts were crumpled in a corner, and Troy's grey comforter looked as though it had been haphazardly thrown over his bed.

Troy turned to Gabriella as he shut the door and gestured to the open air around him. "So, this is my room."

Gabriella nodded and wondered around the perimeter, touching the edges of picture frames and running her fingers along the wood of his dresser. She picked an old Gameboy Color off of his desk, "Very cool."

Troy smiled and took the Gameboy from her, "Hey, be careful, that thing is an antique."

Gabriella giggled. As she placed the Gameboy back onto the desk she looked expectantly to Troy, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. He pulled down the comforter, exposing the matching grey cotton sheets.

"Are you sleeping in that?" Troy asked.

Gabriella looked down at her floral silk dress, tights and blazer, "I probably should. I don't think your mom would be too comfortable finding me in her son's bed wearing his clothing."

Troy's brow furrowed and shook his head, "No, I don't think she would."

Gabriella shrugged out of her blazer and hung it on one of the hooks on the back of Troy's door. She slipped her flats off her feet and met Troy on the bed. Her hands wove around his neck and found the hair at the nape of his neck, her fingers playing with the collar on Troy's shirt.

"_You're_ not sleeping in this, are you?"

Troy shook his head, "No, I'm just waiting for you to get in bed so I can change."

"Oh, I see." Gabriella whispered with a smile as she climbed under the comforter and top sheet. Gabriella watched in fascination as Troy lifted himself off the bed and slid his closet door open. Without a moment of hesitation Troy pulled his shirt off and replaced it with an older, East High t-shirt. His pants were next. Gabriella felt herself blush as she caught a glimpse of the gentle dimples on the small of his back and his black boxer briefs. He pulled on a new pair of basketball shorts, grabbed a fleece blanket and settled himself on the other side of the bed, on top of the covers, like he promised.

Gabriella rolled to her side, pressed her face against Troy's ribs, and inhaled. He smelled good. Like laundry detergent and summertime. So good. Troy ran his fingers through the remnants of the styling products left in her hair and left his palm, hot even though her dress, sprawled across her spine.

"Goodnight, El," Troy exhaled, his hand clasp against her back moving her close enough to feel his heat through the blankets.

With her face still pushed against his ribs she responded with a kiss to his side. Once silence had been established and both Troy and Gabriella had settled into a comfortable sleeping position it only took moments for Gabriella to drift to sleep.

----

It was nine o'clock when Natalie cracked opened Troy's bedroom door to find him lying on his bed, coverless, spread-eagled, with his right hand dangling over the edge. This was a typical scene in the Bolton household; Troy had always been a late sleeper and Natalie an early riser. However, upon closer inspection another body, one with long black hair and a very girlish appearance could be seen almost completely covered by a blanket that presumably was meant for Troy. This was not something that Natalie had ever encountered before.

She closed his door gently before making her way down to the kitchen where her mother was starting breakfast.

"There's a girl in Troy's bed," Natalie said. Not to be a tattletale, but just to make conversation.

Lucille chuckled and cracked another egg into a bowl. "I figured. There's a car in our driveway."

"Did you go look at her?" Natalie asked, opening up the fridge and helping herself to some orange juice.

Lucille laughed outright at her daughter's question, "I sure did. I think it's Mrs. Montez's daughter."

Natalie hopped up onto island counter top, swinging her legs. "Are you mad at him?"

Lucille moved to the garbage to dispose of the eggshells. "No, he's a grown boy, and he slept on top of the covers, at least."

"This is a pretty big deal, huh?" Natalie questioned before taking a sip of her orange juice. Her eyes locked on the back of her mother's head.

Lucille stopped stirring the batter and looked to her middle child. She walked towards her and pulled Natalie into a tight hug. It lasted longer than it should have, unspoken comforts and wishes that Jack was there too passed between them. "Yeah, I think it's a pretty big deal. Which is why I'm making pancakes. Do you think she likes chocolate chips?"

"Who doesn't?"

----

**AN: **Hi. I hoped you liked it :) There are only a few chapters left!


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